Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force

Not to be confused with Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force.

Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force
Headquarters Air Force identification badge
Flag of the vice chief of staff of the Air Force
Incumbent Lieutenant General Scott L. Pleus Acting   since 21 February 2025
United States Air Force Air Staff
Abbreviation	VCSAF
Reports to	Secretary of the Air Force Chief of Staff of the Air Force
Seat	The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia, United States
Appointer	The president with Senate advice and consent
Term length	4 years fixed term
Constituting instrument	10 U.S.C.   § 8034
Formation	1 October 1947
First holder	Hoyt Vandenberg

The vice chief of staff of the Air Force (VCSAF) is the second-highest-ranking military officer in the United States Air Force. If the chief of staff of the Air Force (CSAF) is absent or is unable to perform his duties, then the VCSAF assumes the duties and responsibilities of the CSAF. The VCSAF may also perform other duties that the secretary of defense (SECDEF), the secretary of the Air Force (SECAF) or the CSAF assigns to him. The VCSAF is appointed by the president of the United States and must be confirmed via majority vote by the Senate. ^[1] By statute, the VCSAF is appointed as a four-star general.

As of 21 February 2025, the acting vice chief of staff of the Air Force is Lieutenant General Scott L. Pleus. ^[2]

List of vice chiefs of staff of the Air Force

No.	Vice Chief of Staff [3] [4]		Term			Chief of Staff
	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Term length
1		Vandenberg, Hoyt General Hoyt S. Vandenberg (1899–1954)	10 October 1947	28 April 1948 (became CSAF)	201 days	Carl Spaatz
2		Fairchild, MuirGeneral Muir S. Fairchild (1894–1950)	27 May 1948	17 March 1950 †	1 year, 294 days	Hoyt Vandenberg
-		Norstad, LaurisGeneral Lauris Norstad (1907–1988) Acting	2 May 1950	9 October 1950	160 days	Hoyt Vandenberg
3		Twining, NathanGeneral Nathan F. Twining (1897–1982)	10 October 1950	29 June 1953 (became CSAF)	2 years, 262 days	Hoyt Vandenberg
4		White, ThomasGeneral Thomas D. White (1901–1965)	30 June 1953	30 June 1957 (became CSAF)	4 years, 0 days	Nathan F. Twining
5		LeMay, CurtisGeneral Curtis E. LeMay (1906–1990)	1 July 1957	30 June 1961 (became CSAF)	3 years, 364 days	Thomas D. White
6		Smith, FredericGeneral Frederic H. Smith Jr. (1908–1980)	1 July 1961	30 June 1962 (retired)	364 days	Curtis LeMay
7		McKee, WilliamGeneral William F. McKee (1906–1987)	1 July 1962	31 July 1964 (retired)	2 years, 30 days	Curtis LeMay
8		McConnell, JohnGeneral John P. McConnell (1908–1986)	1 August 1964	31 January 1965 (became CSAF)	183 days	Curtis LeMay
9		Blanchard, WilliamGeneral William H. Blanchard (1916–1966)	19 February 1965	31 May 1966 †	1 year, 101 days	John P. McConnell
-		Wheless, Hewitt Lieutenant General Hewitt T. Wheless (1913–1986) Acting	13 June 1966	31 July 1966	48 days	John P. McConnell
10		Holloway, BruceGeneral Bruce K. Holloway (1912–1999)	1 August 1966	31 July 1968 (reassigned)	1 year, 365 days	John P. McConnell
11		Ryan, JohnGeneral John D. Ryan (1915–1983)	1 August 1968	31 July 1969 (became CSAF)	364 days	John P. McConnell
12		Meyer, JohnGeneral John C. Meyer (1919–1975)	1 August 1969	30 April 1972 (reassigned)	2 years, 273 days	John D. Ryan
13		Wade, HoraceGeneral Horace M. Wade (1916–2001)	1 May 1972	31 October 1973 (reassigned)	1 year, 183 days	John D. Ryan George S. Brown
14		Ellis, RichardGeneral Richard H. Ellis (1919–1989)	1 November 1973	18 August 1975 (reassigned)	1 year, 290 days	George S. Brown David C. Jones
15		McBride, WilliamGeneral William V. McBride (1922–2022)	19 August 1975	31 March 1978 (retired)	2 years, 224 days	David C. Jones
16		Allen, LewGeneral Lew Allen Jr. (1925–2010)	1 April 1978	30 June 1978 (became CSAF)	90 days	David C. Jones
17		Hill, JamesGeneral James A. Hill (1923–2010)	1 July 1978	29 February 1980 (retired)	1 year, 243 days	Lew Allen
18		Mathis, RobertGeneral Robert C. Mathis (1927–2016)	1 March 1980	31 May 1982 (retired)	2 years, 91 days	Lew Allen
19		O'Malley, JeromeGeneral Jerome F. O'Malley (1932–1985)	1 June 1982	5 October 1983 (reassigned)	1 year, 126 days	Lew Allen Charles A. Gabriel
20		Skantze, LawrenceGeneral Lawrence A. Skantze (1928–2018)	6 October 1983	31 July 1984 (reassigned)	299 days	Charles A. Gabriel
21		Welch, LarryGeneral Larry D. Welch (born 1934)	1 August 1984	31 July 1985 (reassigned)	364 days	Charles A. Gabriel
22		Piotrowski, JohnGeneral John L. Piotrowski (born 1934)	1 August 1985	31 January 1987 (reassigned)	1 year, 183 days	Charles A. Gabriel Larry D. Welch
23		Hatch, MonroeGeneral Monroe W. Hatch Jr. (born 1933)	1 February 1987	1 June 1990 (retired)	3 years, 120 days	Larry D. Welch
24		Loh, JohnGeneral John M. Loh (born 1938)	4 June 1990	1 April 1991 (reassigned)	301 days	Larry D. Welch Michael Dugan Merrill McPeak
25		Carns, MichaelGeneral Michael P. C. Carns (1937–2023)	16 May 1991	28 July 1994 (retired)	3 years, 73 days	Merrill McPeak
26		Moorman, ThomasGeneral Thomas S. Moorman Jr. (1940–2020)	29 July 1994	11 July 1997 (retired)	2 years, 347 days	Merrill McPeak Ronald Fogleman
27		Eberhart, RalphGeneral Ralph E. Eberhart (born 1946)	11 July 1997	26 May 1999 (reassigned)	1 year, 319 days	Ronald Fogleman Michael E. Ryan
28		Lyles, LesterGeneral Lester L. Lyles (born 1946)	27 May 1999	17 April 2000 (reassigned)	326 days	Michael E. Ryan
29		Handy, JohnGeneral John W. Handy (born 1944)	17 April 2000	5 November 2001 (reassigned)	1 year, 202 days	Michael E. Ryan John P. Jumper
30		Foglesong, RobertGeneral Robert H. Foglesong (born 1945)	5 November 2001	11 August 2003 (reassigned)	1 year, 279 days	John P. Jumper
31		Moseley, Teed MichaelGeneral T. Michael Moseley (born 1949)	12 August 2003	2 September 2005 (became CSAF)	2 years, 21 days	John P. Jumper
32		Corley, JohnGeneral John D. W. Corley (born 1951)	2 September 2005	17 September 2007 (reassigned)	2 years, 15 days	T. Michael Moseley
33		McNabb, DuncanGeneral Duncan J. McNabb (born 1952)	17 September 2007	4 September 2008 (reassigned)	353 days	T. Michael Moseley Norton A. Schwartz
34		Fraser, WilliamGeneral William M. Fraser III (born 1952)	8 October 2008	27 August 2009 (reassigned)	322 days	Norton A. Schwartz
35		Chandler, CarrolGeneral Carrol H. Chandler (born 1952)	27 August 2009	14 January 2011 (retired)	1 year, 140 days	Norton A. Schwartz
36		Breedlove, PhilipGeneral Philip M. Breedlove (born 1955)	14 January 2011	27 July 2012 (reassigned)	1 year, 195 days	Norton A. Schwartz
37		Spencer, LarryGeneral Larry O. Spencer (born 1954)	27 July 2012	6 August 2015 (retired)	3 years, 10 days	Norton A. Schwartz Mark Welsh
38		Goldfein, DavidGeneral David L. Goldfein (born 1959)	6 August 2015	1 July 2016 (became CSAF)	330 days	Mark Welsh
39		Wilson, StephenGeneral Stephen W. Wilson (born 1959/1960)	22 July 2016	16 November 2020 (retired)	4 years, 117 days	David L. Goldfein Charles Q. Brown Jr.
40		Allvin, DavidGeneral David W. Allvin (born 1963)	16 November 2020	2 November 2023 (became CSAF)	2 years, 351 days	Charles Q. Brown Jr.
41		Slife, JamesGeneral James C. Slife (born 1967)	19 December 2023	21 February 2025 (relieved)	1 year, 64 days	David W. Allvin
-		Pleus, ScottLieutenant General Scott L. Pleus (born 1967) Acting	21 February 2025	Incumbent	111 days	David W. Allvin

Timeline

See also

• Under Secretary of the Air Force
• Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
• Director of Staff of the United States Air Force
• Vice Chief of Staff of the Army
• Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps
• Vice Chief of Naval Operations
• Vice Chief of Space Operations
• Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard

References

1. "10 USC 8034. Vice Chief of Staff" . Retrieved 9 November 2007.
2. Mesch, Kelly (24 February 2025). "Three-star general performing duties of Air Force vice chief of staff after Trump firing". Inside Defense. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
3. "Defense AFD-130410-035" (PDF). Retrieved 13 September 2022.^{[ dead link ]}
4. "Air Force Magazine, Volume 100, Issues 1-10". Air Force Magazine. Air Force Association. 15 December 2016. Archived from the original on 13 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.