Colonel Craig Punches joined the Air Force Institute of Technology’s leadership team in the summer of 2022 as the dean of the School of Systems and Logistics. “It’s all about logistics and acquisitions,” said Punches. “You can get a tank to war, but if it doesn't have the fuel or the parts, it's just a static display.”

Punches leads a team of more than 100 faculty and staff whose mission is to provide continuing education and consultation in the areas of data analytics, acquisition management, contracting, financial management, logistics management, and systems and software engineering. Punches is the 28th dean of the school since it was established as the School of Logistics in 1958.

With more than 155 courses and seminars, the school plans, develops, and conducts courses to meet the technical management educational needs of acquisition, contracting, and logistics customers from the Department of the Air Force, DoD, and other federal agencies. Faculty teach an average of 17,800 students a year through in-residence, distance learning, and on-site instruction.

“We are here to educate and help people understand the process; not to provide the answer, but to teach the way to think. Every situation will be unique, so we are providing different tools in the toolbox so that our students can more effectively and efficiently deal with whatever issues our logistics and acquisition communities will face in the future,” said Punches.

One of Punches’ goals for his new role is to increase the brand recognition of AFIT to include professional continuing education opportunities. “Many times when Airmen hear about AFIT the only thing that they think of is the master’s degree program, which is a great program, but it only touches a small population of the entire Air Force. The School of Systems and Logistics focuses on professional continuing education which affects more than just your initial years, it affects you throughout your entire career in in the Air Force,” said Punches.

Punches was familiar with AFIT having earned his master’s degree in logistics management from the Graduate School of Engineering and Management in 2002. “As a logistician, the course work I took was very operational research focused. We did a lot of mathematical modeling and simulation and a lot of work finding mathematical solutions,” said Punches.

The extensive mathematical courses that Punches took as part of his AFIT master’s degree proved valuable during his next assignment as chief of weapon systems analysis at the headquarters for Pacific Air Forces where he was responsible for future resource planning for all PACAF weapon systems. “I worked the flying hour program, so that operational research background was very important. Being able to dig into the data to find out the consumption of each and every individual component part was part of my function to help price out for the future and to then use that information to come up with a budget for PACAF’s flying out program. That probably would not have been possible had I not had the extensive mathematical background knowledge from AFIT to do that amount of investigation,” said Punches.

Prior to his current AFIT assignment, Punches was the commander of the Personal Property Activity Headquarters in San Antonio, TX. He has also commanded three squadrons and served as the deputy director of the Host Nation Coordination Cell at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar.

Punches said his most rewarding assignments have been his five deployments because of the opportunity to give back. “My first deployment was in support of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm to help liberate Kuwaitis after Saddam Hussein invaded their country. I was in a medical unit with the Army, and we drove in to provide humanitarian aid and assistance to any of the Kuwaitis who had not escaped. To see the happiness in their eyes when we were there to help them was very rewarding,” recalled Punches.

The oldest of four boys, Punches grew up on a farm in a small town in Kansas and only had 19 people in his high school graduating class. Facing limited job prospects, he joined the Army Reserves to pay for college. “It was probably the smartest thing I ever did because it enabled me to get my bachelor’s degree and get experience working with people as an enlisted troop for 10 years before getting commissioned,” said Punches. He commissioned into the Air Force after graduating Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Emporia State University in Kansas.

Joining the military wasn’t an unfamiliar decision for Punches. His father served in the Army Reserves during the Vietnam War and his grandfather served in the Army during World War II as part of an organization that helped to liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp.

Punches is married with three children. His son is following in his footsteps having joined the Air Force Reserves where he serves as a paralegal while he earns his bachelor’s degree. “He will be going to law school after that already having experience as a paralegal in the Air Force,” said Punches.

The opportunities afforded Punches after joining the military have been immeasurable and he is very appreciative. “That's what is unique and very precious about what the DoD does. It can take you no matter what your background was previously, no matter what your economic or social background was, and it can help to develop you and recognize the performance that you do and reward you with opportunities to continue to progress. That it is very crucial and I am very appreciative of what the DoD has done for me and my family as well,” said Punches.