RICHMOND, Va. -- Col. Christopher G. Batterton will succeed Col. Mark Piper as the commander of the Virginia Air National Guard’s 192nd Wing based at Langley Air Force Base, according to an announcement made Nov. 6, 2020, by Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia. The assignment is effective Jan. 3, 2021.
“Please join me in congratulating these outstanding leaders on their assignment to key positions of increasing responsibility,” Williams wrote in the announcement. “We are grateful for their dedicated service and look forward to the depth of experience they bring to their new roles.”
Batterton currently serves as the commander of the 192nd Operations Group and is responsible for ensuring the readiness of more than 280 Airmen in 18 different Air Force specialty codes, and he will be succeeded by Lt. Col. Brock E. Lange. The 192nd OG is comprised of the 149th Fighter Squadron, the 192nd Operation Support Squadron, the 185th Cyber Space Operations Squadron, the 192nd Intelligence Squadron and the 200th Weather Flight.
Batterton was commissioned in the Air Force in 1999 after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy, and he earned his pilot wings in 2000 upon graduation from Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. Following UPT, he attended the F-16 Basic Course and was assigned to the 80th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan Air Base in the Republic of Korea. Following Korea, he was assigned to the 79th Fighter Squadron, 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina where he upgraded to instructor pilot and participated in several temporary duty assignments and deployments. In 2005, Batterton was selected for the F-22A and moved to the 27th Fighter Squadron, 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base.
In April 2009, Batterton joined the Virginia Air National Guard’s 149th Fighter Squadron as a drill status Guardsman. He has served as a flight commander, wing chief of safety and 192nd Operations Support Squadron commander. He worked in industry since joining the VaANG in 2009 holding a variety of management and leadership positions, and he is a senior vice president for a defense services company.
Batterton commanded the 192nd Intelligence Squadron, and he later served as the vice commander of the 192d Wing where he was responsible for ensuring the readiness of more than 1,300 Airmen in the execution of federal and state missions across a full spectrum of operations.
Batterton is a command pilot with more than 2,000 hours in fighter aircraft, including leading missions in multiple CONUS and OCONUS exercises and participating in deployments to include Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.