G. James Herrera is the Chief, Legislative Affairs Office, Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio, Randolph, Texas. As Chief of Legislative Affairs, he serves as the principal Legislative Liaison for the command, which includes a headquarters, eleven flying training wings, four technical training wings, a medical wing, Air University, two numbered Air Forces, and nationwide recruiting operations. Mr. Herrera provides legislative policy advice, guidance, and recommendations on all Congressional issues affecting Air Force air, space, and cyberspace training, education, and force development, directly to the AETC Commander.
Prior to joining AETC, Mr. Herrera was the U.S. Defense Readiness & Infrastructure Analyst for Congress at the Congressional Research Service, where he provided objective analyses of military readiness and infrastructure issues to all Congressional Members, Committees, and their staff. Mr. Herrera has also worked at the Institute for Defense Analyses, a federally funded research and development center, where he conducted extensive research and writing principally for the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He has performed roles as an analyst, a project leader, an interagency coordinator, and an executive director, and has conducted field data collection and analysis to support the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, the Active Component Army, the National Guard Bureau, and the Reserve Forces Policy Board. He is an author and co-author of several classified and unclassified technical reports on subjects ranging from technology trends in small unmanned aircraft systems, to Air National Guard pilot production readiness and foreign research and development assessments. Mr. Herrera is also a U.S. Army combat veteran who deployed multiple times with the 82nd Airborne Division in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Global War on Terrorism.
EDUCATION
2016 – MA, Global Policy, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Washington, D.C.
2010 – BA, Linguistics and Slavic Studies, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
2010 – BA, Geography/Geographic Information Systems, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
CAREER CHRONOLOGY
1. June 2002 – June 2006, active duty U.S. Army Noncommissioned Officer, Airborne Infantry Squad Leader, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, NC.
2. June 2010 – December 2010, Paralegal and Office Manager, Civil & Bankruptcy Law, Private Practice, Fairfax County, VA.
3. January 2011 – January 2015, Security Operations Center Officer, Medimmune, LLC, Gaithersburg, MD
4. June 2011 – February 2015, Defense Research Analyst, Systems and Analyses Center, Institute for Defense Analyses, Alexandria, VA.
5. March 2015 – November 2017, National Security Research Analyst, IDA Science and Technology Policy Institute, Washington, D.C.
6. December 2017 – April 2019, Defense Research Analyst, SAC, IDA, Alexandria, VA.
7. April 2019 – December 2021, US Defense Readiness & Infrastructure Analyst, Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
8. December 2021 – present, Chief of Legislative Affairs, Headquarters, Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, TX.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Army Commendation Medal (2ND Award)
Army Achievement Medal (3RD Award)
Army Good Conduct Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Iraq Campaign Medal with four bronze service stars
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Army Service Ribbon
Overseas Service Ribbon
Combat Infantryman Badge
Expert Infantryman Badge
Parachutist Badge
Order of the Spur (Gold)
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
• The Fundamentals of Military Readiness, CRS Report R46559 (2020)
• Defense Primer: Defense Working Capital Funds, CRS In Focus IF11233 (2020)
• Technology Trends in Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) and Counter-UAS: A Five Year Outlook, IDA Paper P-8823 (2017)
• A Review of the BUILDER Application for Assessing Federal Laboratory Facilities, IDA Document D-8407 (2017)
(Current as of April 2022)