Brig. Gen. Michael S. Dunkin is the Chief of Staff–Air, South Carolina Air National Guard, McEntire Joint National Guard Base, South Carolina. He is responsible for supporting all functions associated with the South Carolina Air National Guard’s federal and state missions.
Brig. Gen. Dunkin was commissioned in 1991 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the University of South Carolina. After completing airfield operations officer training in 1993, he was assigned to Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, where he deployed to Dhahran Air Base, Saudi Arabia, in support of Operation Southern Watch. He later served at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, and deployed to Zagreb, Croatia, in support of Operation Joint Endeavor, overseeing air traffic control operations into and out of Bosnia-Herzegovina, including the return of the first commercial aircraft to Sarajevo. He subsequently served as an airspace planner for a multinational special operations task force in 1997, and as the lead combat airspace planner at the Combined Air Operations Center, Vicenza, Italy, during the Kosovo Verification Mission and Operation Allied Force in 1998 and 1999.
After leaving active duty in 2001 as the lead airfield operations inspector for Air Combat Command, he continued his service in the Air National Guard. In 2003, he led the Air Traffic Control cell at the Combined Air Operations Center supporting Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and later deployed as the Operations Support Squadron director of operations at Baghdad International Airport in 2006. He also commanded the 24th Expeditionary Air Base Squadron in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, following the 2010 earthquake, directing airfield and base support operations. In 2018, he was selected as the vice commander, 169th Fighter Wing, McEntire Joint National Guard Base, South Carolina. He has served on eight Joint Air Component Coordination Element teams supporting exercises in the Indo-Pacific region and was selected four
times as the team director. Prior to his current position, the general was the director of staff–air, Joint Forces Headquarters, South Carolina Air National Guard.
EDUCATION
1991 Bachelor of Science, Business Administration, University of South Carolina, Columbia
1992 Basic Airfield Operations Officer Course, Keesler Air Force Base, Miss.
1992 Airfield Operations Officers Training Program, Tyndall AFB, Fla.
1999 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell-Gunter AFB, Ala.
2003 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell-Gunter AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2008 Air War College, Maxwell-Gunter AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2014 Financial Managers Course, Keesler AFB, Miss.
2014 Masters, Business Administration, Liberty University, Lynchburg, Va.
2017 Reserve Component National Security Course, National Defense University, Ft. McNair, Washington, D.C.
2023 Joint and Combined Warfighting School, National Defense University, Joint Forces Staff College, Va.
2024 Leadership in Homeland Security, Kennedy School Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
2025 Joint Task Force Commanders Course, NORTHCOM, Fort Carson, Colo.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. April 1992 – May 1993, Student, Officer Training Program, 325th Operations Support Squadron, Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.
2. May 1993 – May 1995, Chief, Air Traffic Control Operations, 436th Operations Support Squadron, Dover AFB, Del.
3. May 1995 – March 1997, Airfield Systems Flight Commander, 33rd Combat Comm Squadron, Tinker AFB, Okla.
4. March 1997–March 2000, Combat Airspace Manager, 32nd Air Operations Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany
5. March 2000 – April 2001, Airfield Operations Inspector, HQ Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va.
6. April 2001 – December 2008, Air Traffic Control Officer, 245th Air Traffic Control Squadron, McEntire Joint National Guard Base, S.C.
7. December 2008 – January 2014, Commander, 245th Air Traffic Control Squadron, McEntire JNGB, S.C.
8. January 2014 – June 2018, Comptroller, 169th Fighter Wing, McEntire JNGB, S.C.
9. June 2018 – July 2019, Vice Wing Commander, 169th Fighter Wing, McEntire JNGB, S.C.
10. July 2019 – March 2026, Director of Staff-Air, Joint Forces Headquarters, McEntire JNGB, S.C.
11. March 2026 – present, Chief of Staff, Joint Forces Headquarters, McEntire JNGB, S.C.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with four oak leaf clusters
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
1987 - Four Year ROTC Scholarship
1993 - Distinguished Graduate, Airfield Operation Officer Course
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS
National Guard Association of South Carolina, State Executive Council, 2003-2006
National Guard Association of South Carolina, State Executive Council, 2014 - 2017
National Guard Association of South Carolina, Vice President, 2017 – 2018
National Guard Association of South Carolina, President, 2019 – 2020
National Guard Association of South Carolina, Finance and Tax Committee Chairman, 2020 – Present
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant July 13, 1991
First Lieutenant Nov. 27, 1993
Captain Nov. 27, 1995
Major Aug. 15, 2001
Lieutenant Colonel Dec. 3, 2005
Colonel June 23, 2018
Brigadier General March 7, 2026
(Current as of March 2026)