Colonel Dustin Byrum graduated with distinction from the United States Naval Academy in 1998 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. Following flight school and F/A-18 replacement pilot training, Colonel Byrum reported to MCAS Miramar, CA. Between 2002 and 2013 Colonel Byrum served three tours with the Red Devils of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232. During these tours he deployed five times, land based and onboard the USS NIMITZ, flying combat missions in support of Operations Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom as well as missions throughout the INDOPACOM AOR.
Outside the cockpit Colonel Byrum served as the Air Officer for 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion and 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion where he was the Air-Fires Officer for the Marine Corps’ first ever Special Operations Task Force in Herat, Afghanistan. Colonel Byrum was also the Air Officer Department Head at Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 where he was responsible for Joint Terminal Attack Controller training and Close Air Support standardization for the Marine Corps.
Selected to command Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314, in 2018 Colonel Byrum deployed the Black Knights to Isa Air Base, Bahrain where they flew combat missions over Iraq and Syria in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.
Assigned to the Joint Staff in 2019, Colonel Byrum worked in the J-8 as the lead program and budget analyst for Marine Corps Programs, TACAIR, and Electronic Warfare before selection as the Deputy Executive Assistant to the 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. From 2022 to 2024, Colonel Byrum commanded Marine Aircraft Group 31 in MCAS Beaufort, SC, flying as an instructor in F-35s and F/A-18s. In April 2025, he assumed his current role as Assistant Deputy Commandant for Aviation.
Colonel Byrum is a graduate of the Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor Course (TOPGUN), the Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course (WTI), the Expeditionary Warfare School and Marine Corps Command and Staff College Distance Education Programs, the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program, and a distinguished graduate of the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy.
Colonel Byrum’s awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Air Medal with Numeral “7”, the Meritorious Service Medal with gold star, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Gold Star and “V”.