Jim Mungenast received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1971. He was commissioned a 2d Lt in the U.S. Air Force by his father, Colonel Andrew J. Mungenast, USAF, through the Air Force ROTC program at the University of Alabama on June 6, 1973. At this time he also graduated from the University of Alabama with a Master of Arts degree in labor relations and personnel. His first assignment was as a Personnel Officer with the 317th Tactical Airlift Wing at Pope AFB, North Carolina, from June 1973 until he left active duty and joined the Air Force Reserve in April 1975. Capt Mungenast next served as a Personnel Officer with the Air Force Intelligence Service, attached to the Defense Intelligence Agency, in Washington, D.C., from June 1975 to January 1982, and during this time he earned his Juris Doctor degree from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1979. He served as an Air Intelligence Officer for the Directorate for Collection Management with the Defense Intelligence Agency at Clarendon, Virginia, from January 1982 to March 1984, followed by service as an Intelligence Plans and Programs Staff Officer for the Directorate of Estimates, Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, in Washington, D.C., from March 1984 to February 1986. Major Mungenast next served as an Intelligence Plans and Programs Staff Officer in the Imagery Division with the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C., from February 1986 to April 1989, and then as Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Intelligence Director, Air Force Special Activities Center, at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, from April 1989 to March 1990. Col Mungenast served as Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Intelligence Director, Defense Intelligence College, at the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C., from April 1990 to April 1994. In his next assignment, as Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Director, Missile and Space Intelligence Center, with the Defense Intelligence Agency at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, from May 1994 to July 1998, he established the first Air Force Reserve organization at the Center. His next assignment was as Air Force Reserve Support Team Director and Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Commander, National Air Intelligence Center, at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, from July 1998 to December 2001, followed by service as Mobilization Assistant to the Director of the Intelligence Directorate (J-2) with U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, from January 2002 to May 2005. During this time, Brig Gen Mungenast served on active duty at European Command Headquarters in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from February to May 2003, and as Acting J-2 for the Command from September to November 2003. His final assignment was as Mobilization Assistant to the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency at Bolling AFB, Washington, D.C., from May 2005 until his retirement from the Air Force on December 9, 2007, where he had oversight of over 1,200 intelligence reservists from all services. Jim is currently serving as the South Central Region President for the Air Force Association, and has previously served as President of the General Bruce K. Holloway Chapter and as Tennessee State President of the Air Force Association. He also serves as the Vice Chair of the Tennessee Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, and participates in several other veteran and military organizations. He lives in Kingston, Tennessee, with his wife Jeanie, and they have two Children, Davis and Emily, and five grandchildren.

His 1st Defense Superior Service Medal Citation reads:

Brigadier General James M. Mungenast, United States Air Force Reserve, distinguished himself by exceptionally superior service while serving as Mobilization Assistant to the Director of Intelligence, United States European Command, Patch Barracks, Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany, from January 2002 to May 2005. During this period, General Mungenast's outstanding leadership and superb professionalism contributed significantly to the successful execution of the Command's myriad complex missions. As Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM commenced, he arranged for the mobilization of over 200 Reservists to fill critical intelligence manpower requirements at the Headquarters, the Joint Analysis Center, Joint Reserve Intelligence Support Elements located in the continental United States, and the various deployed locations, ensuring the necessary intelligence support for both operations. General Mungenast also worked aggressively to solve a severe shortage of Reserve imagery analysts in the Theater by forging an agreement with the Air National Guard to convert 44 of their billets from communications to imagery intelligence analysts, providing a supply of skilled analysts for future contingencies. Additionally, he worked with the local Reserve office to establish a clear leadership structure for both the Army and Air Force Reserve programs, providing higher levels of training and mobilization readiness for more than 2,000 Reservists. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Brigadier General Mungenast reflect great credit on himself, the United States Air Force Reserve, and the Department of Defense.