Allison Black

Colonel Allison K. Black is an American retired military officer. She was given the nickname "Angel of Death" as an AC-130H gunship officer in the United States Air Force during the War in Afghanistan. She was the second woman to ever serve as commander of the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, from 2022 until her retirement in 2024.

Military career

Lt. Col. Allison Black portrayed with an AC-130H behind her overlaid over a map of the Middle East and Central Asia below. In 1992, Black enlisted in the United States Air Force, serving as a Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape specialist for six years. In 1998, she obtained her commission from Air Force Officer Training School after earning a bachelor's degree from Wayland Baptist University. She commanded air support that struck Taliban forces. Black was gifted an AK-47 from Abdul Rashid Dostum. She retired from the air force on February 23, 2024.

Awards and decorations Black received numerous military awards and decorations, including the Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters, the Air Medal with 15 oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Achievement Medal with 4 oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Air Force Combat Action Medal, the NATO Medal, and the Combat Readiness Medal.

On June 29, 2024, Black was awarded the Margaret Cochran Corbin Award by the Daughters of the American Revolution at the society's 133rd Continental Congress. She was presented the award by DAR President General Pamela Rouse Wright and 1st Vice President General Ginnie Sebastian Storage during National Defense Night ceremony at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.

Personal life Black grew up in East Northport, New York.

Black is an ambassador for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. On November 11, 2023, she served as the Grand Marshal of the Pensacola Beach Veterans Day Parade.