Lt Col Charles “Smoke” Biediger is the Commander of the 149th Medical Group, JBSA-Lackland-Kelly Annex, Texas. Lt. Col. Biediger advises the commander of the 149th Fighter Wing on matters regarding the health/medical readiness of the 149th Fighter Wing, as well as Wing occupational hazards/safety in the rigorous environment of F-16 fighter aviation and training.
Lt. Col. Biediger graduated from St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, Texas, in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. He entered the military as a reservist in 1988 under the Health Professions Scholarship Program. He graduated from the University of Texas Medical School in 1992 with his Medical Doctorate degree; he graduated with honors and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Lt. Col. Biediger entered Air Force active duty in June 1992 as a Surgery Intern at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center. After his surgical internship, he completed the Aerospace Medicine Primary Course at Brooks AFB, Texas, in September 1993 and then served as a Flight Surgeon and Officer in Charge of Occupational Medicine at the 59th Medical Group through June 1995. He returned to medical residency training in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at WHMC from July 1995 - June 1999. Lt Col Biediger was assigned to the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado, as an Otolaryngologist-Head and Neck Surgeon from July 1999 - June 2003; he served as Chief of Otolaryngology Services and Chairman of the Surgical Services Morbidity/Mortality Conference during his final two years there. Lt. Col. Biediger separated from the Air Force in 2003 and entered civilian private practice. After a 12-year break in service, Lt. Col. Biediger accepted a commission with the Texas Air National Guard in Nov 2015 and has served as a Flight Surgeon in the 149th Medical Group; he was appointed the Chief of Aeromedical Services (SGP) for the 149th MDG in August 2020. Lt. Col. Biediger provided Flight Surgeon support for Operation Sky Avenger, Czech Republic, in June 2018 and Coronet Bronco, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, in May 2019. He served as the Medical OIC for Innovative Readiness Training Tropic Care in Kauai, Hawaii, June 7 – 24, 2022, and participated as a treating physician with IRT Healthy Tennesseans in Rhea County, Tennessee, June 1 – 15, 2023. Lt. Col. Biediger left civilian private practice in October 2022 and is a civil service physician serving on the Informal Physical Evaluation Board at Headquarters, Air Force Personnel Center (HQ AFPC), JBSA Randolph AFB, Texas, since July 2022.
As a civilian Otolaryngologist-Head and Neck Surgeon, Lt Col Biediger worked in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, from 2003-2004; he moved back to his hometown, San Antonio, Texas, in 2004 and has been in private practice since then. Lt. Col. Biediger has served as Chief of the Medical Staff at Christus Santa Rosa Alamo Heights Surgical Hospital and served on the Board of Directors for the Christus Santa Rosa Ambulatory Surgery Centers since returning to San Antonio. A well-respected physician and surgeon in the San Antonio, Texas community, he has been selected to the Texas Monthly Super Doctors Hall of Fame (over ten consecutive years) and has received multiple Top Doctor and Compassionate Physician awards. He has been active in his community, having served on the Corpus Christi Catholic School Board, Colorado Springs, Colorado, the St. Gregory the Great School Council, San Antonio, Texas, and the Central Catholic High School Alumni Association Board (Secretary), San Antonio, Texas. He has organized numerous cycling teams for the MS150 bicycle rides to raise funds for multiple sclerosis research.
EDUCATION
1988 Bachelor of Science, Biology, St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, Texas
1992 Doctor of Medicine, University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio, Texas
1992 – 1993 Internship, General Surgery, Wilford Hall Medical Center
1993 Aerospace Medicine Primary Course, Brooks AFB, Texas
1994 Hyperbaric Medicine Course, Brooks AFB, Texas
1995 – 1999 Residency, Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium
2024 - Air War College (completion July 2024), Arizona State University, by correspondence
ASSIGNMENTS
June 1992 – June 1993, Surgical Internship, WHMC, Lackland, AFB, Texas
July 1993 – June 1995, Flight Medicine/Chief of Occupational Medicine, 59th MDG, Lackland AFB, Texas
July 1995 – June 1999, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Residency, WHMC, Lackland AFB, Texas
July 1999 – June 2003, Staff Otolaryngologist; Chief of Otolaryngology Services (2001-2003), 10th MDG, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado
Nov 2015 – August 2020, Flight Surgeon, 149th MDG, Texas ANG, JBSA Lackland AFB – Kelly Field Annex, Texas
August 2020 – May 2024, Chief of Aeromedical Services 149th MDG, Texas ANG, JBSA Lackland AFB – Kelly Field Annex, Texas
May 2024 – present, Commander of the 149th MDG, Texas ANG, JBSA Lackland AFB – Kelly Field Annex, Texas
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Flight Surgeon
Flight Hours: more than 75
Aircraft: F-16D, T-3A, C-5A, C-21A, C-130H
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS
Diplomate, American Board of Otolaryngology
Fellow, American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
Fellow, American College of Surgeons
Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society
Texas Association of Otolaryngology
Society of Military Otolaryngologists
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant March 17, 1988
Captain May 17, 1992
Major May 17, 1998
Lieutenant Colonel October 1, 2017
(Current as of 05 June 2024)