ABOUT STEVE KING
After two successful careers in military and business, I’m coming out of retirement for one reason: to serve the people of District 17. I’m not looking for political promotion; I’m focused on listening to you and fighting for your priorities. As a proven problem solver, a 30-year U.S. Air Force veteran, and a tech leader with Dell, I am committed to bringing my experience and dedication to public service.
Steve King was born on a US Air Force base in the United Kingdom, the son of an active-duty US military member. He attended overseas Department of Defense and stateside public schools graduating from Everman High School in Fort Worth, Texas. Steve enlisted in the US Air Force as a Radio Operator and after three years qualified as an Airborne Communications Systems Operator. Serving Stateside and overseas tours flying variants of the C-130 aircraft with Air Force Special Operations, Steve was assigned to Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma in the spring of 1984.
During this five-year period, he and his wife Linda fell in love with Oklahoma and its people. Determined to return to and retire in Oklahoma, they were assigned to Ramstein Air Base, Germany in November of 1989. In August of 1990, his C-20A aircrew was sent to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, tasked to directly support the Desert Shield/Desert Storm Commander-in Chief, General Norman Schwarzkopf. Throughout the seven-year tour in Europe, Steve flew missions supporting congressional delegations, foreign heads of state and senior theater commanders as East and West Germany reunited and the Soviet-bloc fell. Asking to return to Oklahoma, Steve served with the E-3 AWACS program completing over 5,300 flying hours as a chief aircrew member in the C-130, C-135, C-20, C-9, and E-3 aircraft. Promoted to Chief Master Sergeant, the top enlisted rank, he was selected to lead the Air Force’s HR team for its entire enlisted aircrew force.
The staff he led was responsible for all personnel, workforce-distribution, assignments, and primary flying training actions for Air Force Career Enlisted Aviators, positioning over nine thousand personnel worldwide. In this role he directed and justified to decision makers at US Air Force headquarters the aircrew personnel movement and flying training budgets totaling $150 million annually, determined funding levels and controlled budgets for cost centers. In his final assignment he served as the Superintendent of the 552 Training Squadron again at Tinker AFB. In this role he was Chief Enlisted Advisor to the commander on all matters of aircrew management, training, discipline, and employment for over forty-five instructors and 590 E-3 AWACS aircrew students annually. Retiring after a 30-year career, his military decorations include five Meritorious Service Medals, Air Medal, the Aerial Achievement and Air Force Commendation Medals.
With extensive leadership experience in both peacetime and combat theaters, Steve was offered a management position with Dell Computer Corporation. As Dell expanded their premium technical support division, he was the first Technical Support manager hired for the newly opened Oklahoma City site. Building out teams of technical support engineers and operating system analysts, his team provided engineering support and expertise for Dell’s largest corporate customers running advanced business systems and data centers around the globe. In less than a year, the top-shelf Oklahoma workforce he hired was winning awards as Dell’s highest performing engineering support team.
A Senior Manager, he led peer managers in the process of planning for increased staffing and professional development. As industry business server, storage and networking systems became increasingly complex, he worked with each of his engineers to increase their ability to support the newest and most advanced datacenter infrastructure.
Steve retired again from Dell after 17 years of service. He now serves on the board of Mission Mid-Del and volunteers in its Master’s Market operation providing food, clothing, and home needs for those in the local community. He was also a founding board member of an overseas ministry organization, serving almost ten years in that capacity. He and his wife of 47 years have four children, each in professional careers and seven grandchildren. They are members of Meadowood Baptist Church where he also serves as a Deacon and has taught an Adult Sunday School class for over 20 years.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership from Southern Nazarene University and an Associate of Arts in Information Systems Technology from the Community College of the Air Force.