Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Ervin

F-16 Branch Chief, Weapons Division United States Air Force

Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas J. Ervin is currently the F-16 Branch Chief, Weapons Division, Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs. In this capacity, he supports national defense strategy to deliver combat relevant air and space capability to US allies and partners.

Colonel Ervin received his commission from the Reserve Officer Training Corps as a Distinguished Graduate in 2005. Upon commissioning, he attended Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training at Sheppard AFB, TX. Following training, Colonel Ervin attended F-16 training at Luke AFB, AZ with his initial F-16 assignment to the 555 Fighter Squadron at Aviano AB, Italy. He next served as an F-16 instructor pilot at the 461st Flight Test Squadron, Edwards AFB, CA supporting the F-35 Developmental Test Program. Colonel Ervin then transitioned to the A-29B Super Tucano at the 81st Fighter Squadron at Moody AFB, GA serving as an Air Advisor and Instructor Pilot to the Air Forces of Afghanistan and Lebanon. Finally, he became an Instructor Pilot supporting US pilot training at Columbus AFB, MS in the T-1A at the 48th Flying training Squadron. He has flown sorties in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Freedom’s Sentinel and Operation Resolute Support. He has worked in multiple jobs at the squadron, group, and wing level.

Colonel Ervin is a Command Pilot with over 2,000 flying hours including 510 combat hours in the F-16 and A-29. He served as Deputy Chief of Staff, 487th Air Expeditionary Wing, Holloman Air Force Base supporting Afghan refugee operations and Director of Staff, 14th Flying Training Wing, Columbus AFB, Mississippi. Additionally, he has served as Assistant Director of Operations, 81st Fighter Squadron, Moody AFB, Georgia overseeing the development aircraft system upgrades and weapons integration as well as training of Afghan Air Force pilots and developing tactics. Before arriving at SAF-IA, Colonel Ervin completed a fellowship with AFWERX, developing critical test plans and integration of electronic attack and training capabilities of advanced air mobility vehicles.