Lt. Col. Christian ‘Pancho’ Lichter
KAFB News:
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE — Lt. Col. Christian “Pancho” Lichter has pinned on his “full-bird” wings after being promoted April 1 to Colonel.
Col. Lichter works as director of staff at the 58 Special Operations Wing, directing 56 officer, enlisted and civilian staff on behalf of Wing Commander Col. Justin Hoffman.
The Wing, one of Air Education and Training Command’s most complex wings, is comprised of six geographically-separated units, 2,400 Airmen and 67 aircraft.
Col. Lichter grew up on Maple Hill in Auburn, Maine and is a 1993 graduate of Acadia University, Nova Scotia, Canada. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1994, serving as an F-15E avionics technician at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, and was commissioned through officer training school in 1997. He was “winged” as a pilot in 1998 initiating his distinguished flying career mostly within Air Force Special Operations Command and more recently Air Education and Training Command.
Col. Lichter’s parents, Dr. Horacio and Joan Lichter, both deceased, were well-known in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine area. His father was a beloved pediatrician for more than 30 years at St. Mary’s hospital and his mother had a ballet studio in Lewiston, Maine.
“Congratulations to Colonel Lichter. I’ve known Christian for 15 years, so it was a great honor and privilege for me to participate in his promotion ceremony,” 58th SOW Commander Col. Hoffman said. “His personal story is one of perseverance, so his promotion should serve as an inspiration for all Airmen as a reminder that hard work, dedication, and commitment pay off. I’m proud to serve with him here in the 58th Special Operations Wing.”
In his nearly 26-year career, Col. Lichter has logged nearly 5,000 total flight hours across several continents on several different aircraft, of which more than 1,000 hours were flown in combat. He has been the recipient of numerous decorations, to include the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Medal with Valor and seven oak leaf clusters, the Aerial Achievement Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Joint Service Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Force Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Army Achievement Medal, and the Air Force Combat Action Medal.
He has participated in 11 named U.S. Operations and also is a Presidential Advance Agent.
Col. Lichter separated from the Air Force in 2007 for more than three years continuing to fly special missions overseas as a contract pilot in the Philippines as well as providing flight instruction to Lebanese and Iraqi Air Force senior leaders.
A high school graduate of Edward Little High School in Auburn, his formal education began with a bachelor of science in Geology in 1993 from Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada. He completed the Squadron Officer School in 2004, the Flight Safety Officer School in 2005, and earned his Master of Aeronautical Science-human factors, with distinction from Embry Riddle in 2005. Additionally, in 2010, he completed Air Command and Staff College; in 2015, the Joint Professional Military Education, Phase II; and finally, Air War College in 2016.
Before Col. Lichter took on the director of staff position at the 58 SOW, he was a deputy commander at the 58th Operations Group and came to Kirtland after serving as chief of the Joint Reconnaissance Center at USCENTCOM, MacDill AFB. In his illustrious career, Col. Lichter has been assigned to 11 locations, including as a MC-130H Combat Talon II pilot student at Kirtland more than 20 years ago.