Dondi E. Costin

Dondi E. Costin
Chaplain (Major General) Dondi E. Costin 18th Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force
Born	(1964-08-21) August 21, 1964 Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S.
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1986–present
Rank	Major General
Awards	Legion of Merit Bronze Star Meritorious Service Medal (7)

Dondi Enos Costin (born August 21, 1964) is a major general in the United States Air Force. He has led the United States Air Force Chaplain Corps and served as Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force since August 30, 2015.

Education

Chaplain Costin is a native of Wilmington, North Carolina, and was commissioned a second lieutenant upon graduation from the United States Air Force Academy in 1986. He received his Masters of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas. He also holds Doctor of Ministry and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky, as well as a Master of Arts in Counseling from Liberty University. His military education includes U.S. Air Force Academic Instructor School, Squadron Officer School, Air War College, and Master of Strategic Studies. ^[1]

Early life and career

Chaplain Costin served as a squadron-level scientific analyst evaluating air-to-ground precision guided munitions, chief of scientific analysis on a major command headquarters staff, and assistant professor of aerospace studies. He completed a competitive category transfer into the Air Force Chaplain Corps in 1996.

Costin has since served as Protestant chaplain for Air Force Basic Military Training, flight line chaplain and then senior flight line chaplain for both special operations and conventional forces in Europe, senior Protestant chaplain, readiness instructor/ evaluator preparing Chaplain Corps personnel for worldwide deployment, Air Staff branch chief, wing chaplain, command chaplain for the air component mission in Southwest Asia, and command chaplain for Pacific Air Forces. An ordained Southern Baptist minister, Costin is endorsed by the Liberty Baptist Fellowship to serve as an Air Force Chaplain. He was double promoted from the rank of colonel to major general to assume the position of Chief of Chaplains in August 2015.^[2]

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