Capt Ryan Nicholson

Capt Nicholson is currently serving as an Air Force Institute of Technology Course Instructor for the Air Force’s badge awarding course for Contracting Professionals. Captain Nicholson is responsible for instructing 5-week hybrid virtual/in-resident courses and delivering the curriculum to 350 new officer accessions and select civilians annually. 

Captain Nicholson enlisted in the Air Force in October of 2008 before entering the United States Air Force Academy where he earned a commission to Second Lieutenant in 2017. He has a range of contracting experiences supporting infrastructure and operational roles, contingency life support and sustainment efforts, Government Purchase Card programs, and high-altitude weapons systems. Prior to his role at AFIT, Captain Nicholson served as an Unlimited Warrant Team Lead for U-2 Pilot Life Support in the Life Cycle Management Center at Robins Air Force Base, GA, where he led a 5-member team through the onset of the $2.5B program’s divestiture while supporting 31 U-2 aircraft across 5 geographic customer units. 

Captain Nicholson was also a Lead Administrative Contracting Officer while deployed as an Army augmentee to Al Asad, Iraq in 2021. While deployed, he was promoted to lead the transition of the existing $2.7B Base Life Support contract to establish a new regional contractor and ensure continuous service support for 2.8K personnel from 16 joint units. 

EDUCATION 

2012 Associates Degree in Aerospace Ground Equipment, Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell AFB Ala. 

2017 Bachelor of Science in Literature, Minor in Philosophy, US Air Force Academy (USAFA), CO 

2018 Master of Arts in Liberal Arts, St Johns College, Santa Fe, NM 

ASSIGNMENTS 

1. December 2008—June 2009, AGE Technical School Student, 361st TRS, Sheppard AFB, TX 

2. June 2009—August 2012, AGE Journeyman, 20th EMS, Shaw AFB, SC  

3. August 2012—May 2013, Cadet Candidate, USAFA Preparatory School, USAFA, CO 

4. June 2013—May 2017, Cadet, US Air Force Academy, USAFA, CO  

5. May 2017—December 2018, Masters Student, Air Force Institute of Technology, St Johns College, Santa Fe, NM  

6. January 2019—July 2020, Contracts Manager, Infrastructure Support, Robins AFB, GA  

7. July 2020—August 2021, Contracts Manager, Operational Services, Robins AFB, GA 

(November 2020—July 2021, Administrative Contracting Officer Team Lead, Al Asad, Iraq) 

8. August 2021—June 2022, Chief, Plans and Programs Section, Robins AFB, GA 

9. June 2022—July 2023, Contracts Manager U-2 PDM, Robins AFB, GA  

10. July 2023—October 2023, Contracting Officer U-2 PDM, Robins AFB, GA 

11. October 2023—June 2024, Team Lead, U-2 Pilot Life Support, Robins AFB, GA 

12. Jun 2024—Present, Instructor of Contracting, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH