Col. Chad Cisewski, Commander of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild Air Force Base, has spent more than two decades in service to the U.S. Air Force. His journey, shaped by family tradition, a love for aviation, and a commitment to community, has brought him to his current role as both a leader and advocate for military and civilian partnerships.
Cisewski’s path to military leadership began in Duluth, Minnesota, where he graduated from the ROTC program at the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2002. Military service runs deep in his family. His grandfather served in Okinawa during World War II, his father in Vietnam, and his wife’s grandfather also wore the uniform.
“It’s something that’s always been part of my life,” Cisewski said.
That legacy of service was coupled with an early fascination with aviation. Cisewski earned his private pilot’s license at 17, a passion sparked by humble beginnings.
“I started out washing dishes at a restaurant, then moved on to pumping gas at the airport,” Cisewski recalled. “It was there that my interest in flying really took off. From that point, it was all in on the Air Force.”
Over 22 years of service, Cisewski has held a variety of roles, including his arrival at Fairchild AFB in the summer of 2022 as the Operations Group Commander. In this position, he was responsible for overseeing all flying operations on the base.
“The experience has been great for my family and me,” Cisewski said.
In June 2024, Cisewski was given the opportunity to extend his stay at Fairchild and take on a new challenge as Commander of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing. Now six months into the role, Cisewski also serves as the Installation Commander for the base.
His leadership style is defined by a strong connection to his team and the surrounding community. “In the two and a half years we’ve lived here, I’ve seen firsthand how good the community is in the Spokane area,” Cisewski said. “Especially out here on the West Plains.”
Cisewski has been a champion for strengthening the relationship between Fairchild AFB and the Spokane area. One key initiative is the Honorary Commander Program, which pairs base leaders with community members to foster mutual understanding and collaboration.
“We make them aware of what the Air Force is up to, and they pull us out into the community too,” Cisewski said. “It’s a great way to look outward instead of being insular.”
One of those Honorary Commanders, Tonya Murray, serves as the Branch Manager for Global Credit Union’s Fairchild branch and is a member of the Air Mobility Command Commander’s Civic Leader Program. Murray praised Cisewski for his seamless transition into his new role and his focus on community engagement.
“He already had the intimate familiarity with the base’s structure and community that allowed him to hit the ground running,” Murray said. “He has participated in various community events, strengthening partnerships without missing a beat.”
“He leads with great insight and enthusiasm,” she added.
Cisewski has also been instrumental in organizing community-focused events like Skyfest, an air show that attracts thousands of attendees. The 2024 event attracted over 80,000 visitors, building on the success of Skyfest 2022.
“These events are incredibly rewarding,” Cisewski said. “They bring kids and families from the community to the base, and they promote careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.”
Plans are already underway for a 2026 Skyfest, an effort Cisewski says is vital to inspiring future generations.
Beyond large-scale events, Cisewski is passionate about programs like “Treats to Troops,” which collects community donations for deployed service members. With approximately 180 Fairchild airmen on deployment at any given time, such gestures make a meaningful impact.
“Seeing the community support is very important to airmen stationed overseas,” Cisewski said.
While Cisewski can’t cite any outstanding catalyst moments in his career, he finds fulfillment in consistent dedication to his mission.
“It’s all about grinding the daily grind each and every day,” he said. “My goals moving forward are simple: take it one day at a time and continue boosting community involvement and support.”
Under Cisewski’s leadership, the partnership between Fairchild Air Force Base and the Spokane area has flourished. His vision reflects not only his commitment to the Air Force but also his understanding of the importance of community connections in achieving success.
As Col. Cisewski looks ahead, his legacy of service, leadership, and community engagement will undoubtedly leave a lasting impact on Fairchild AFB and the surrounding region.
Q: You mentioned Skyfest as a big-time event and partnership for the base. What other recent partnerships have been important to the base?
A: One thing we are really proud of is the partnership between the base and Spokane County that helped build the small arms range and training facility we can now use. This is a big time boost for the community in terms of public safety as well, because the sheriff’s office also uses the facility. It sounds like a nice deal, but it is actually much bigger than that. This is the first time the United States Air Force has partnered with a local agency on a joint use construction project. If you understand how bureaucracy works within the Department of Defense, those partnerships can be very hard to do, and this one took years to develop and get across the finish line. It has actually become a model for the Department of Defense, so they can use it to see if it can be applied to other communities across the nation.
Q: So, Fairchild is a big part of the local communities and has a big print here. What does Fairchild do not only locally, but for the nation as a whole?
A: There is no mission that this country can do outside of our borders that doesn’t rely on tanker gas, whether we need to move aircraft to Europe, the Middle East, or the Pacific. All of that requires our tanker gas, and that means our Fairchild airmen are continuously involved in that. We have airmen deployed to the Middle East 365 days a year, and our squadrons rotate. We have four flying squadrons at Fairchild, and they rotate on six month cycles currently deployed to the Middle East. But to deploy anywhere in the world, we run the 24/7 Homeland Defense Alert missions out of Fairchild.
Q: Is the base involved in any partnerships for the holidays?
A: Yeah, so there is one thing I would like to call out as a thank you is the program run by the local community called “Treats to Troops.” There are a couple community partners that have sponsored this program for the past few years. It is usually just through the holidays, but this year they also did it in the Summer. We put out some information, and we got community donations of snacks, candies, treats, and other commonly used and needed items. The items were bundled up into individual packages and then shipped out to our deployed members. We are also holding a tree lighting and holiday party, so a lot of funs stuff for this time of year.
Q: What about the Honorary Commander Program helps the base connect?
A: Sometimes when you’re on base and working on all of the things that happen, it can be easy to become very insular or look inward. This gives us a great chance to partner with active community members to connect with what’s happening right around us. The program gives us direct lines to connecting with and interacting with the local population.
