Colonel Nicole Malachowski (USAF, Retired) was born in Santa Maria, CA and graduated high school in Las Vegas, NV. She earned her commission from the United States Air Force Academy in 1996 and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Management and a minor in French. Following graduation she attended Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) at Columbus AFB, MS and began her career as pilot. Competitively selected to fly combat aircraft, she embarked on an adventure among the first group of women to fly fighter aircraft.
Colonel Malachowski served as a mission ready fighter pilot in three operational F-15E fighter squadrons and has flown over 188 combat hours in both OPERATION DELIBERATE FORGE and OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM. She served in combat as an F-15E Flight Commander, F-15E Evaluator, Instructor Pilot and Flight Lead. Colonel Malachowski was a Command Pilot with over 2,300 flight hours in six different Air Force aircraft: T-3, T-37, T-38, AT-38, F-15E, and the F-16C/D.
Her operational F-15E assignments included two tours of duty at RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom as well as one operational assignment to Seymour Johnson AFB, NC. She served alongside the United States Army 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Red Cloud, Republic of Korea, as an Air Liaison Officer. During her second assignment to Seymour Johnson AFB, NC she had the honor of commanding the 333rd Fighter Squadron, leading an elite cadre of F-15E Instructors in the training of the next generation of combat aviators.
Colonel Malachowski had the honor of serving in several special duty assignments. In 2005, she was selected to fly as Thunderbird #3 with the USAF Air Demonstration Squadron and was the first woman to fly on any Department of Defense military jet demonstration team. As a White House Fellow, class of 2008-2009, she served on the Presidential Transition Support Team (PTST) while assigned to the U.S. General Services Administration.
During her last official assignment, she served as the Executive Director of the White House’s national ‘Joining Forces’ program. In this capacity, she directly advised former First Lady of the United States, Mrs. Michelle Obama, and Dr. Jill Biden on all topics relating to service members, veterans, and military families. Topics included, but were not limited to, subjects such as employment, education, mental health, and veterans’ homelessness.
