Lt. Col. Dayvid Prahl is the commander of the 718th Test Squadron, 804th Test Group at Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn. He directs a team of 165 government and contractor personnel to conduct component- and system-level developmental testing of space weapon systems, including rockets, satellites, hypersonic vehicles, and intercontinental ballistic missiles. The 718th Test Squadron operates and maintains 13 unique, world-class test facilities including vacuum chambers, hypervelocity ranges, high-altitude thrust stands, high-enthalpy arc heaters, and mobile multi-spectral sensor arrays.
Lt Col. Prahl attended the University of Kansas and received his commission in 2005 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps. He is a 2012 graduate of the Air Force Test Pilot School and has flown over 240 hours as a non-rated crewmember during developmental testing of C‑17A, MC-130H, MC-130J, and CV-22 aircraft. He has also directed operational testing for system upgrades to the F-22A, F-15C/E, and F‑35A aircraft valued at $9.6B. Prior to his current position, Lt Col. Prahl was the Program Control Integrated Product Team Lead for the eT‑7A Red Hawk Division of the Air Force Lifecycle Management Center’s Mobility and Training Aircraft Directorate at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
From October 2019 to June 2020, Lt Col Prahl served as the Deputy Chief of Plans and Programs for the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. In this capacity, he was responsible for managing plans and processes for the Air Force’s largest counterterrorism wing supporting Operation FREEDOM’S SENTINEL.
EDUCATION:
2005 Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan.
2006 Air and Space Basic Course, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2011 Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
2012 Master of Science in Flight Test Engineering, Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards AFB, Calif.
2013 Inter-American Squadron Officer School, Lackland AFB, Texas
2017 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
ASSIGNMENTS:
1. Jan 2006–May 2008, C-17 Performance and Flying Qualities Engineer, 773rd Test Squadron, Edwards AFB, Calif.
2. May 2008–July 2009, Executive Officer, 412th Test Wing, Edwards AFB, Calif.
3. July 2009–March 2011, Graduate Student, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
4. March 2011–Dec 2011, Rapid Product Development Lead, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
5. Jan 2012–Dec 2012, Student Experimental Flight Test Engineer, USAF Test Pilot School, Edwards AFB, Calif.
6. Dec 2012–July 2014, Emerging Mobility Section OIC, 413th Flight Test Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
7. July 2014–June 2015, CV-22 Flight Commander, 413th Flight Test Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
8. June 2015–Jan 2016, Assistant Director of Operations, 413th Flight Test Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
9. Jan 2016–July 2017, Chief, Effectiveness Branch, AFOTEC Detachment 6, Nellis AFB, Nev.
10.July 2017–July 2018, Deputy Chief, Test Division, AFOTEC Detachment 6, Nellis AFB, Nev.
11.July 2018–Aug 2020, Chief, Test and Evaluation Branch, Air Force Materiel Command Directorate of Air, Space and Cyberspace Operations, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio (Oct 2019–June 2020, Deputy Chief, Plans and Programs, 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan)
12.Aug 2020–June 2021, Lead, Program Control Integrated Product Team, eT-7A Division, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
13.June 2021–Present, Chief, Space Test Branch, Arnold Engineering Development Complex, Arnold AFB, Tenn.
14. May 2022 - Present, Commander, 718th Test Squadron, 804th Test Group, Arnold AFB, Tenn.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Aerial Achievement Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with “C” device and two oak leaf clusters
PUBLICATIONS:
Coupling Vanishing Point Tracking with Inertial Navigation to Produce Drift-Free Attitude Estimates in a Structured Environment, Proceedings of the 24th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of the Institute of Navigation, September 2011
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS:
Society of Flight Test Engineers
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION:
Second Lieutenant – Dec. 18, 2005
First Lieutenant – Dec. 25, 2007
Captain – Dec. 25, 2009
Major – March 1, 2016
Lieutenant Colonel – Sep. 1, 2020
(Current as of May 2022)