Lance Rosa-Miranda

Major Lance Rosa-Miranda is the U.S. Air Force legislative fellow at CSIS. He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1998 with a B.S. in the humanities and also holds a master’s in aeronautical science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He is a senior pilot with 3,943 flight hours, including 1,404 combat hours in support of coalition and joint special operations forces. His military assignments have included eight combat deployments in support of the Global War on Terror, as well as numerous assignments in the United States. He began his service as a formal training unit flight instructor and check pilot in the T-1A Jayhawk. As part of the Air Force Special Operations Command with the 4th Special Operations Squadron, he served as evaluator pilot, chief of squadron resources, flight commander, chief pilot, and deployed director of operations in the AC-130U Spooky Gunship. Most recently, he was the executive officer to the commander, 1st Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Florida. The wing’s mission includes infiltration, resupply, air refueling, combat aviation advisory, and precision fire support, employing over 74 fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, including the AC-130H/U, MC-130 H/P, CV-22B, UH-1, AN-26, CASA 212, MI-17, and U-28A. These capabilities support a variety of special operations missions including direct action, foreign internal defense, unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, counterterrorism, personnel recovery, psychological, and information operations.