Maj William Chris Berner

Maj William C. Berner is the 32E Training and Development Branch Chief, Air Force Institute of Technology Civil Engineer School, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In this capacity, he leads a specialized team responsible for developing, training, and educating civil engineer officers throughout their career progression, overseeing curriculum spanning basic, intermediate, command, and senior leadership courses. Additionally, Major Berner serves as a core instructor for courses within his pavement and geotechnical engineering specialties while directing the Initial Skills Training portfolio, which plans and executes the Civil Engineer Basic Course required for all new civil engineer officers.

Maj Berner was commissioned in 2013 from the ROTC program at North Carolina State University. Since commissioning, he has served in multiple squadron leadership positions as a career civil engineer. Additionally, he has deployed in support of OPERATIONS ENDURING FREEDOM, FREEDOM’S SENTINEL, SPARTAN SHIELD, and RESOLUTE SUPPORT.

EDUCATION
2013 Bachelor of Science, Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, N.C.
2018 Master of Science, Applied Economics, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, N.D.
2019 Master of Science, Engineering Management, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
2019 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, AL
2022 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2025 Doctor of Philosophy, Civil Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio

ASSIGNMENTS
1. Mar 2014 - Jan 2015, Programming Engineer, 2d Civil Engineer Squadron, Barksdale AFB, La.
2. Jan 2015 - Oct 2015, Chief of Project Execution, 2d Civil Engineer Squadron, Barksdale AFB, La. (Oct 2015 - Apr 2016, Airfield Planner, 455th Expeditionary CES, Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan)
3. April 2016 - Aug 2017, Deputy Chief Engineer, 2d Civil Engineer Squadron, Barksdale AFB, La.
4. Aug 2017 - April 2019, Masters Student, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio
5. Apr 2019 - Oct 2019, Operations Engineering OIC, 49th Civil Engineer Squadron, Holloman AFB, N.M.
6. Oct 2019 - Jul 2020, Operations Flight Commander, 49th Civil Engineer Squadron, Holloman AFB, N.M. (Jul 2020 - Dec 2020, Director of Operations, 577th Expeditionary Prime BEEF Squadron, Al Udeid AB, Qatar)
7. Jan 2021 - Apr 2022, Installation Management Deputy, 49th Civil Engineer Squadron, Holloman AFB, N.M.
8. May 2022 - May 2025, Doctoral Student, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
9. June 2025 - June 2026, Commander, 39th Civil Engineer Squadron, Incirlik AB, Türkiye

AREAS OF INTEREST & CONSULTING
Organizational Leadership
Force Development
Pavement Design and Construction
Geotechnical Engineering

CERTIFICATIONS
2019 Registered Professional Engineer, State of Ohio