Col Maxwell Cover is an Air Force Senior Developmental Education Fellow and F-35A command pilot assigned to the Mitchell Institute for the academic year 2023–2024.
Background: In 2018, Col Cover transitioned to the F-35A Lightning II at Hill Air Force Base, where he served in a variety of operational leadership positions as an evaluator and instructor pilot to include fighter squadron director of operations and commander, 388th Operational Support Squadron. He led combat missions in both 4th generation and 5th generation fighter aircraft and led the Air Force’s largest 5th generation immediate response force deployment where he conducted agile combat operations (ACE) over a 90-day period in support of U.S. Central Command operations. Previously, after graduating pilot training from Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT), he was selected for F-16CM training and flew numerous operational assignments as an evaluator and instructor pilot specializing in suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD).
Academic and Professional Titles: Col Cover was commissioned into the Air Force in 2005 as a distinguished graduate from R.O.T.C. Det. 450, Bozeman, Montana. In 2017, he graduated from the U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College as a distinguished graduate and was selected for the USAF’s premier graduate program, the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SAASS). He holds three master’s degrees in military strategy, military operational art and science, and finance.