Commander, Professor of Aerospace Studies

Lieutenant Colonel Trek C. Potter is the Commander, of Air Force ROTC Detachment 850. He serves as Professor and Department Chair of Aerospace Studies at the University of Utah. He is responsible for recruiting, developing, and commissioning cadets at the University of Utah, Weber State, Salt Lake Community College, Westminster College, Ensign College, and the Hill AFB campuses of Embry-Riddle and Park Universities.

Lt Col Potter entered the Air Force in 2001 as an enlisted Civil Engineering Operations Manager and was commissioned in 2007 through the Air Force ROTC program at Detachment 850 after graduating from Weber State University with a degree in Computer Science and Multimedia. He attained a master’s degree in Information Technology Management from the Naval Postgraduate School in 2012 and in Military Operational Art and Science from the Air Command and Staff College in 2019.

The majority of Lt Col Potter’s commissioned career has been dedicated to the operations and defense of Air Force information and communication networks. He has directed cyber operations across the globe from remote Cyber Centers in California, Virginia, and Germany.  In his most recent position, he served as Deputy Chief of the Information Warfare Division at Ramstein Air Base, Germany where he oversaw the integration and effective employment of non-kinetic effects, including Cyber, Information Operations, Electronic Warfare, and Special Programs into the Air Component support for the European and African theaters of military operations. Under his leadership, his teams performed critical roles in delivering aid to refugees from Afghanistan during OPERATION ALLIES REFUGE and support to Ukrainian military forces throughout the current Russia-Ukraine Crisis.