The Commandant of Cadets at the United States Air Force Academy is the officer in charge of the Cadet Wing. Under the Superintendent, the Commandant oversees all of the cadets' military training at the academy. The position of Commandant has traditionally been filled by an active duty Air Force brigadier general, although occasionally, the office holder has been a major general. Since reorganization from October 1994 through August 2006, the Commandant was "dual-hatted" as the commander of the 34th Training Wing. In August 2006, the 34th Wing was redesignated Commandant of Cadets, a named organization. [1]
No. | Commandant of Cadets | Term | Class Year | Notes and Reference | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Term length | |||
1 | Major General Robert M. Stillman | 1954 | 1958 | ~4 years | ![]() USMA 1935 | [a] [2] | |
2 | Major General Henry R. Sullivan Jr. | 1958 | 1961 | ~3 years | ![]() USMA 1939 | [b] [3] | |
3 | Major General William Seawell | 1961 | 1963 | ~4 years | ![]() USMA 1941 | [4] | |
4 | Major General Robert William Strong Jr. | 1963 | 1965 | ~2 years | ![]() USMA 1940 | [5] | |
5 | Brigadier General Louis T. Seith | 1965 | 1967 | ~2 years | ![]() USMA 1943 | [6] | |
6 | Brigadier General Robin Olds | 1967 | 1971 | ~4 years | ![]() USMA 1943 | [c] [7] | |
7 | Brigadier General Walter T. Galligan | 1971 | 1973 | ~2 years | ![]() USMA 1945 | [8] | |
8 | Brigadier General Hoyt S. Vandenberg Jr. | 1973 | 1975 | ~2 years | ![]() USMA 1951 | [9] | |
9 | Brigadier General Stanley C. Beck | 1975 | 1978 | ~3 years | ![]() USMA 1954 | [10] | |
10 | Brigadier General Thomas C. Richards | 1978 | 1981 | ~3 years | Virginia Tech 1956 | [11] | |
11 | Brigadier General Robert D. Beckel | 1981 | 1982 | ~1 year | ![]() USAFA 1959 | [d] [13] | |
12 | Brigadier General Anthony J. Burshnick | 1982 | 1984 | ~2 years | ![]() USAFA 1960 | [14] | |
13 | Brigadier General Marcus A. Anderson | 1984 | 1986 | ~2 years | ![]() USAFA 1961 | [e] [15] | |
14 | Brigadier General Sam W. Westbrook III | 1986 | 1989 | ~3 years | ![]() USAFA 1963 | [16] | |
15 | Brigadier General Joseph J. Redden | 1989 | 1992 | ~3 years | ![]() USAFA 1964 | [17] | |
16 | Major General Richard C. Bethurem | 1992 | 1993 | ~1 year | ![]() USAFA 1966 | [18] | |
17 | Brigadier General Patrick K. Gamble | 1993 | 1994 | ~1 year | Texas A&M 1967 | [19] | |
18 | Brigadier General John D. Hopper Jr. | 1994 | 1996 | ~2 years | ![]() USAFA 1969 | [f] [20] | |
19 | Brigadier General Stephen R. Lorenz | 1996 | 1999 | ~3 years | ![]() USAFA 1973 | [g] [21] | |
20 | Brigadier General Mark A. Welsh III | 1999 | 2001 | ~3 years | ![]() USAFA 1976 | [h] [22] | |
21 | Brigadier General S. Taco Gilbert III | 2001 | 2003 | ~2 years | ![]() USAFA 1978 | [23] | |
22 | Brigadier General Johnny A. Weida | 2002 | 2005 | ~2 years | ![]() USAFA 1978 | [24] | |
23 | Brigadier General Susan Y. Desjardins | 2005 | 2008 | ~3 years | ![]() USAFA 1980 | [i] [25] | |
24 | Brigadier General Samuel D. Cox | 2008 | 2010 | ~2 years | ![]() USAFA 1984 | [26] | |
25 | Brigadier General Richard M. Clark | 2010 | 2012 | ~2 years | ![]() USAFA 1986 | [j] [27] | |
26 | Major General Gregory J. Lengyel | 2012 | July 2, 2014 | ~2 years | Texas A&M 1985 | [k] [28] [29] | |
27 | Brigadier General Stephen C. Williams | July 2, 2014 | ~May 15, 2017 | ~2 years, 317 days | ![]() USAFA 1989 | [l] | |
28 | Brigadier General Kristin E. Goodwin | May 15, 2017 | April 29, 2019 | 1 year, 349 days | ![]() USAFA 1993 | [m] | |
29 | Major General Michele C. Edmondson | May 31, 2019 | May 27, 2021 | 1 year, 361 days | University of Florida 1992 | [n] | |
30 | Brigadier General Paul D. Moga | May 27, 2021 | June 21, 2023 | 3 years, 237 days | ![]() USAFA 1995 | [30] | |
31 | Brigadier General Gavin P. Marks | June 21, 2023 | Incumbent | 1 year, 212 days | ![]() USAFA 1996 | [31] |
The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It is the youngest of the five service academies, having graduated its first class 66 years ago in 1959, but is the third in seniority. Graduates of the academy's four-year program receive a Bachelor of Science degree and are commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Air Force or U.S. Space Force. The academy is also one of the largest tourist attractions in Colorado, attracting approximately a million visitors each year.
Officer Training School (OTS) is a United States Air Force and United States Space Force commissioning program located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama.
Australian Army officers receive a commission from the Governor-General of Australia, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force. The commission is signed by both the Governor-General and the Minister of Defence. Rank insignia for commissioned officers is identical to that of the British Army, with the addition of a band containing the word "Australia" beneath the insignia.
Dana H. Born is a lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a retired brigadier general in the United States Air Force and was the Dean of the Faculty at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She is the first woman to hold that position.
The superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy is the senior officer and commander of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The position is normally held by an active duty Air Force lieutenant general, and is roughly equivalent to the president of a university. Because the Academy is a Direct Reporting Unit, the superintendent reports directly to the Air Force Chief of Staff. The superintendent oversees all aspects of the Academy, including military training, academics, athletics, admissions and the base infrastructure.
Colonel Kim Nichole Reed-Campbell is a retired United States Air Force officer and Command Pilot. She was decorated for piloting her A-10 Thunderbolt II back to base in southern Iraq after taking heavy anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) damage in aerial combat over Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. After her tour of duty in Iraq ended, Campbell gave lectures throughout the United States about her experience, including one at the National Air and Space Museum. Campbell was promoted to the rank of major in 2006.
Major General Winfield Wayne Scott III was Commander, Tanker Airlift Control Center, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. The TACC is responsible for planning, scheduling and directing a fleet of more than 1,200 aircraft in support of combat delivery and strategic airlift, air refueling and aeromedical operations around the world.
The Sri Lanka Military Academy, commonly known simply as Diyatalawa, is the oldest military academy in Sri Lanka, and trains commissioned officers for the Sri Lanka Army. It is located in the garrison town of Diyatalawa in the central highlands of Sri Lanka. It has capacity to train more than 300 cadets.
The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) is a military university based in Kaduna, Nigeria, that trains officer cadets for commissioning into one of the three services of the Nigerian Armed Forces: the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The duration of training at the Nigerian Defence Academy is five years.
The United States Air Force Academy, Cadet Area is a portion of the United States Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, Colorado. Its use of modern architecture stands in contrast with the very traditional designs of West Point and the United States Naval Academy. It was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 2004 for its landscape, architecture, and historic importance as a military academy.
Hispanics in the United States Air Force can trace their tradition of service back to the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), the military aviation arm of the United States Army during and immediately after World War II. The USAAF was the predecessor of the United States Air Force, which was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947, under the National Security Act of 1947. In the U.S., the term Hispanic categorizes any citizen or resident of the United States, of any racial background, of any country, and of any religion, who has at least one ancestor from the people of Spain or is of non-Hispanic origin but has an ancestor from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central or South America, or some other Hispanic origin. The three largest Hispanic groups in the United States are the Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans. According to the U.S. Census Bureau the estimated Hispanic population of the United States is over 50 million, or 16% of the U.S. population, and Hispanics are the nation's largest ethnic minority. The 2010 U.S. census estimate of over 50 million Hispanics in the U.S. does not include the 3.9 million residents of Puerto Rico, thereby making the people of Hispanic origin the nation's largest ethnic or race minority as of July 1, 2005.
Robert Duane Beckel is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Air Force. He was the commander of the 15th Air Force at March Air Force Base, California.
The Commandant of the National Defence Academy is the head and overall in-charge of the National Defence Academy. The Commandant of the Academy is a Three-star rank officer from the three Services in rotation. He is supported by the Deputy Commandant, Brigadier Administration, Principal Director (Training), a Civilian Principal and the Adjutant.
Major General Priyanka Fernando, RWP, USP, is a former senior Sri Lanka Army officer. He has served as the Director General of General Staff (DGGS); General officer commanding (GOC), 58 Division; Commandant of the Ranaviru (veterans) Resource Centre; Director of Rehabilitation; and the Director of Real Estate and Quartering. He served as the Colonel of the Regiment of the Mechanized Infantry Regiment and was the Sri Lankan Minister Counsellor (Defence) in London.
Kristin Elizabeth Goodwin is a retired brigadier general in the United States Air Force (USAF). A transport pilot after graduating the Air Force Academy, she moved on to bombers before assuming commands. She served as the USAF Academy's commandant of cadets, a post from which she was removed due to an Air Force Inspector General investigation. As of August 2020, she was the chief of staff of the United States Space Force's Space Operations Command.
The Commandant of the Indian Military Academy is a post created in 1932 for the purpose of leading the Indian Military Academy in its education of "gentleman cadets". The Commandant must hold a rank of lieutenant general or above. There is no minimum nor maximum term of service in this position though in practice commandants have served anywhere from a few months to 4 years in the position.
Michele C. Edmondson is a United States Air Force major general who served as the commander of Second Air Force from 2021 to 2024. She most recently served as the Commandant of Cadets for the U.S. Air Force Academy from 2019 to 2021.
The Commandant of the Defence Services Staff College is the head and overall in-charge of the Defence Services Staff College. The Commandant of the Academy is a Three-star rank officer from the Indian Army. He is supported by the chief instructors of the Army, Navy and Air wings, Major General in charge of Administration, Brigadier General Staff and a staff officer.
Paul Daniel Moga is a United States Air Force major general who has served as the commander of Third Air Force since April 3, 2024. He most recently served as chief of staff of United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa from 2023 to 2024. He previously served as the Commandant of Cadets of the United States Air Force Academy from 2021 to 2023, and as the deputy director for operations of the United States Northern Command.