Rate My Professor Josh Lev

Lieutenant Colonel Josh A. Lev is the Commander of Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Detachment 650 and Professor of Aerospace Studies at Ohio University, Athens, Ohio. He chairs the Department of Aerospace Studies and is responsible for recruiting, educating, training, and preparing students for commissioning into the Air Force as second lieutenants. A 2006 distinguished graduate of Air Force ROTC Detachment 630 at Kent State University, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice. Lev completed professional military education as a distinguished graduate of Squadron Officer School in 2012 and Air Command and Staff College in 2019. He also graduated from the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies in 2021 and Air War College in 2024.

Lev's career encompasses intelligence, operations, instruction, and strategic roles at tactical, operational, and strategic levels. Assignments include Foreign Integrated Air Defense System Analyst at the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio (2007-2010); Assistant Director of Operations, 390th Intelligence Squadron, Kadena Air Base, Japan (2010-2013); Director of Training, Squadron Officer College, Maxwell AFB, Alabama (2013-2016); Chief of Targets, 603 Air Operations Center, Ramstein Air Base, Germany (2016-2018); Instructor, Air Command and Staff College (2019-2020); and Deputy Division Chief, Headquarters Air Force Futures, the Pentagon (2021-2023). He supported Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, logging more than 1,200 flight hours as non-rated aircrew on the RC-135 Rivet Joint. Prior to Ohio University, he led a 19-person team using net analysis to identify U.S. Air Force vulnerabilities and opportunities against adversaries, informing the Chief of Staff of the Air Force on future force design. His major awards include the Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Aerial Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster, and Air Force Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster. Under his command, Detachment 650 was named the Best Small Detachment in the Nation for 2025.