Lieutenant Colonel William “Steal” Barksdale entered the United States Air Force in June 2006 as a distinguished graduate from Reserve Officer Training Corps at Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering. After his commissioning he was a distinguished graduate from Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas where he remained as an instructor pilot in the T-38C. From there he graduated the F-22 basic operational training course as a distinguished graduate in 2012 and proceeded on assignment with the world famous “Hat in the Ring Gang” the 94th Fighter Squadron, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. During this assignment he deployed on multiple theatre security packages to the Indo-Pacific region.

Lieutenant Colonel Barksdale commanded the 325th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron in addition to the 43rd Fighter Squadron during which time the organization produced a record high number of F-22 basic course graduates. Most recently, Lieutenant Colonel Barksdale graduated from Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. He holds master’s degrees in Airpower Art and Science, Military Operational Art and Science, and Strategic Studies.

Lieutenant Colonel Barksdale is a Command Pilot with over 2,000 flight hours in the T-38A/C and F-22.