Blake Donald was born on May 27, 1956, at Greenville AFB, Mississippi. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force on May 3, 1978, and served as an Education Specialist at Eglin AFB, Florida, from August 1978 to August 1981. He then attended Officer Training School at Lackland AFB, Texas, from August 1981 until he was commissioned a 2d Lt in the U.S. Air Force on December 3, 1981. Lt Donald next attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Columbus AFB, Mississippi, from February 1982 to January 1983, followed by B-52G Stratofortress Combat Crew Training at Castle AFB, California, from January to June 1983. After completing Survival Training in July 1983, Lt Donald served as a B-52G pilot with the 596th Bomb Squadron at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, from August 1983 to November 1986. His next assignment was as a B-52G pilot with the 60th Bomb Squadron at Andersen AFB, Guam, from February 1987 to February 1990, followed by service as a B-52G Instructor Pilot with the 328th Bomb Squadron at Castle AFB from March 1990 to May 1993. Maj Donald next served as Basing Programs Manager and then Chief of the Bomber Programs Section with Headquarters Air Combat Command at Langley AFB, Virginia, from June 1993 to December 1995. He attended E-3A Sentry pilot training from January to June 1996, and then served as an E-3A pilot with NATO at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen, Germany, from June 1996 to June 2001. During this time he participated in missions over Kosovo from 1999 to 2001, and he served as the Aircrew Training Squadron Commander in the NATO E-3A Component at Geilenkirchen from November 1998 to June 2001. Lt Col Donald then completed T-43 pilot training in October 2001, followed by service as a T-43 Bobcat pilot with the 562nd Flying Training Squadron at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, from October 2001 until his retirement from the Air Force on February 1, 2005. Lt Col Donald was recalled to active duty in the Air Force on April 1, 2010, and was assigned as an MQ-1 Predator Remotely Piloted Aircraft pilot with the 18th Reconnaissance Squadron at Creech AFB, Nevada, from April 2010 until he retired from the Air Force for a second time on August 4, 2013.