In this episode of STARRS & Stripes, host CDR Al Palmer, USN ret, talks with retired Air Force Brigadier General Christopher S. Walker, call sign “Mookie” (USAFA ’88). Gen. Walker grew up in Jamaica, Queens in New York City and describes how his journey of wanting to be a pilot led him to the US Air Force Academy and a career in the Air Force.
Palmer and Walker have a great, wide-ranging discussion on many topics:
- military service breaks down stereotypes
- why it’s NOT necessary to have ‘leaders who look like you’
- how DEI disappears in combat when only survival matters
- the close bonds of combat
- why the military should follow the way sports teams are set up based on the best, not identity
- the military is for warfighters–not for benefits
- how DEI got into the military
- politics at the flag level
- role of civilian policymakers at the Pentagon pushing DEI
- inspiring kids to join the military through ‘kick-butt’ role models
- no civilian instructors at the service academies
- what are the DEI offices in the Pentagon going to do right now with the announcement of Pete Hegseth as SECDEF
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BIOGRAPHY
Retired USAF Brig. Gen. Christopher Walker was the Assistant Adjutant General and Commander of the West Virginia Air National Guard. The West Virginia Air National Guard has over 2,100 members and consists of two flying units— the 130th Airlift Wing in Charleston, WV, and the 167th Airlift Wing in Martinsburg, WV. As the Assistant Adjutant General-Air and Commander, he provided command and control over all Air National Guard forces assigned to the state and is the principal advisor to the Adjutant General on all matters related to the Air National Guard (ANG).
Born in New York City, NY, General Walker began his Air Force career as a 1988 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. After Undergraduate Navigator Training at Mather AFB in 1989, he served as a C-130 navigator in weather reconnaissance and tactical airlift squadrons throughout the world, including an assignment as an airdrop planner in the Balkans CAOC in Vicenza, Italy and flying in various contingencies including Operations Provide Promise, Provide Comfort, and Provide Relief.
In 1997, General Walker left active duty to join the ANG and serve as a C-130H3 evaluator navigator, and has commanded at the squadron and group level. He served in various operations and contingencies such at OEF, OIF, Joint Guard/Joint Forge, and Volant Oak/Coronet Oak. He has served as a special assistant to the Director of Mobility Forces (DIRMOBFOR) at the 609th CAOC at Al Udied AB, Qatar, and he also served as civil aviation advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of Transportation with the Coalition Provisional Authority. He has served as the ANG Crisis Action Team Director, Acting Air Mobility Division Chief at the 609th CAOC, and ANG Deputy Director of Air, Space, and Information Operations. General Walker has also served as DIRMOBFOR in two major JCS-directed exercises in Korea. In 2019, he served as Dual-Status Commander of Joint Task Force- World Scout Jamboree (JTF-WSJ), commanding approximately 1000 soldiers, airmen, sailors, and DoD civilians providing security, logistics, and medical assistance to over 45,000 scouts and support staff from over 150 countries.
General Walker is a Master Navigator with over 5200 hours in WC-130 and C-130E/H/H3 aircraft, including over 400 combat and combat support hours.
SSFA v USNA Expert Report by BGen. Christopher Walker (pdf)
Deposition of Gen. Walker in the Students for Fair Admissions v US Naval Academy case (pdf)
Rebuttal Expert Report by Gen. Walker (pdf)
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