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Joseph L. Lengyel
Gen Lengyel (2016 4-Star Photo)
Born 1959 (age 64–65)
Service/branch United States Air Force
Years of service 1981–present
Rank General
Commands held Chief of the National Guard Bureau
Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau
Awards See below

General Joseph Lauren Lengyel (born 1959) is a U.S. Air Force officer and Command Pilot in the Air National Guard, serving as the Chief of the National Guard Bureau. As Chief, he is responsible for ensuring that nearly 460,000 Army National Guard and Air National Guard personnel are accessible, capable and ready to protect the homeland and to provide combat capabilities to the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force.

Lengyel is the son of Margaret and Lauren "Laurie" Lengyel, his father being a veteran and former prisoner of war during the Vietnam War, retiring as at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force. He has two brothers and a sister, with one brother, Gregory J. Lengyel, also attaining a general rank in the Air Force.[1] Prior to his current assignment, Lengyel served as Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau. His previous general officer assignments include Senior United States Defense Official; Chief, Office of Military Cooperation; and Defense Attaché, Cairo, United States Central Command, Cairo, Egypt.

Lengyel was commissioned in 1981 through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program at North Texas State University, Denton. He served in various operational and staff assignments, primarily as an Instructor Pilot and unit Weapons Officer in the F-16 Fighting Falcon. His experience in the F-16 includes tours in Tactical Air Command, Air Combat Command, Pacific Air Forces, United States Air Forces in Europe and the Texas Air National Guard. He has commanded a fighter squadron, operations group, air expeditionary group and the Air National Guard Readiness Center.

Lengyel is a command pilot with more than 3,000 flying hours primarily in the F-16.

Education[]

1981 Bachelor's degree in chemistry, University of North Texas, Denton
1984 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
1988 Air Force Fighter Weapons Instructor Course, Nellis AFB, Nevada
1994 Air Command and Staff College, by seminar
2001 Air War College, by correspondence
2008 National Security Management Course, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, N.Y.
2009 Capstone General and Flag Officer Course, National Defense University, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
2010 Combined Force Air Component Commander Course, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
2010 Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government, Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security, Cambridge, Mass.
2011 University of Tennessee, Master of Business Administration, Knoxville

Assignments[]

  1. March 1982 - March 1983, Student, undergraduate pilot training, 47th Flying Training Wing, Laughlin AFB, Texas
  2. March 1983 - May 1983, Student, fighter lead-in training, 479th Tactical Training Wing, Holloman AFB, New Mexico
  3. May 1983 - January 1984, Student, F-16 upgrade training, 56th Tactical Training Wing, MacDill AFB, Florida.
  4. January 1984 - April 1986, Instructor Pilot, 474th Tactical Fighter Wing, Nellis AFB, Nevada
  5. April 1986 - April 1987, Instructor Pilot Flight Examiner, 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, Kunsan Air Base, South Korea
  6. April 1987 - June 1987, F-16C conversion training, 405th Tactical Training Wing, Luke AFB, Arizona
  7. June 1987 - September 1991, Instructor Pilot, and Chief of Weapons, 512th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany
  8. September 1991 - September 1995, Instructor Pilot Flight Examiner and Weapons Officer, 182nd Fighter Squadron, Texas Air National Guard, Kelly AFB, Texas
  9. September 1996 - June 1997, Commander, 149th Operations Support Flight, 149th Operations Group, Kelly AFB, Texas
  10. June 1997 - October 1998, Operations Officer, 182nd Fighter Squadron, Kelly AFB, Texas
  11. October 1998 - October 1999, Commander, 182nd Fighter Squadron, Kelly AFB, Texas
  12. October 1999 - February 2002, Commander, 149th Operations Group, Lackland AFB / Kelly Field Annex, Texas
  13. February 2002 - June 2004, Vice Commander, 149th Fighter Wing, Lackland AFB, Texas
  14. June 2004 - September 2004, Commander, 455th Expeditionary Operations Group, Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan
  15. September 2004 - September 2006, Air National Guard Advisor to Commander, United States Air Force in Europe
  16. September 2006 - September 2008, Commander, Air National Guard Readiness Center, Andrews AFB, Maryland
  17. September 2008 - June, 2009, Deputy Director, Air National Guard, Arlington, Virginia, and Commander, Air National Guard Readiness Center, Andrews AFB, Md.
  18. June 2009 - July 2010, Military Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
  19. July 2010 - June 2011, Vice Commander, 1st Air Force (Air Forces Northern), Tyndall AFB, Florida
  20. June 2011 - August 2012, Senior U.S. Defense Official; Chief, Office of Military Cooperation and Defense Attaché, Cairo, U.S. Central Command, Cairo, Egypt
  21. August 2012 - August 2016, Vice Chief, National Guard Bureau, Washington, D.C.
  22. August 2016 – Present, Chief, National Guard Bureau, Washington, D.C.

Summary of Joint Assignments[]

  1. June 2011 - August 2012, Chief, Office of Military Cooperation and Defense Attaché, Cairo, U.S. Central Command, Cairo, Egypt, as a major general
  2. August 2012 – August 2016, Vice Chief, National Guard Bureau, Washington, District of Columbia, as a lieutenant general
  3. August 2016 – present, Chief, National Guard Bureau, Washington, District of Columbia, as a general

Flight Information[]

Rating: Command Pilot
Flight hours: more than 3,000
Aircraft flown: T-37, T-38 and F-16

Awards and decorations[]

COMMAND PILOT WINGS US Air Force Command Pilot Badge
Joint Chiefs of Staff seal Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge
Headquarters US Air Force Badge Headquarters Air Force Badge
Defense Distinguished Service ribbon Defense Distinguished Service Medal
US Defense Superior Service Medal ribbon Defense Superior Service Medal
Width-44 crimson ribbon with a pair of width-2 white stripes on the edgesBronze oakleaf-3dBronze oakleaf-3d Legion of Merit with two bronze oak leaf clusters
Width-44 scarlet ribbon with width-4 ultramarine blue stripe at center, surrounded by width-1 white stripes. Width-1 white stripes are at the edges. Bronze Star Medal
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Width-44 crimson ribbon with two width-8 white stripes at distance 4 from the edges.
Meritorious Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Medal ribbon Air Medal
Aerial Achievement Medal ribbon Aerial Achievement Medal
Air Force Commendation ribbonBronze oakleaf-3dBronze oakleaf-3dBronze oakleaf-3d Air Force Commendation Medal with three bronze oak leaf clusters
U.S. Joint Service Achievement Medal ribbon Joint Service Achievement Medal
Air Force Achievement ribbon Air Force Achievement Medal
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Outstanding Unit ribbon
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with one bronze oak leaf cluster
Combat Readiness Medal ribbonBronze oakleaf-3dBronze oakleaf-3dBronze oakleaf-3d Combat Readiness Medal with three bronze oak leaf clusters
Bronze star
Width=44 scarlet ribbon with a central width-4 golden yellow stripe, flanked by pairs of width-1 scarlet, white, Old Glory blue, and white stripes
National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal ribbon Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Bronze star
Afghanistan Campaign ribbon
Afghanistan Campaign Medal with one bronze service star
Global War on Terrorism Service ribbon Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Korea Defense Service ribbon Korea Defense Service Medal
Air Force Overseas Short Tour Service Ribbon Air Force Overseas Short Tour Service Ribbon
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Overseas Long Tour Service Ribbon
Air Force Overseas Long Tour Service Ribbon with one bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with gold frame Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with gold frame
Air Force Longevity Service ribbonSilver oakleaf-3dBronze oakleaf-3dBronze oakleaf-3d Air Force Longevity Service Award with one silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters
AFRM with Hourglass Device (Silver) Armed Forces Reserve Medal with silver Hourglass device
Bronze star
USAF Marksmanship ribbon
Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon with one bronze service star
Air Force Training Ribbon Air Force Training Ribbon

Other Achievements[]

1983 Distinguished graduate, undergraduate pilot training
2009 Maj. Gen. I.G. Brown Command Excellence Award
Multiple civilian pilot ratings, including Airline Transport Pilot

Effective dates of promotion[]

Second Lieutenant Dec. 21, 1981
First Lieutenant Dec. 21, 1983
Captain Dec. 21, 1985
Major Dec. 13, 1994
Lieutenant Colonel Dec. 23, 1998
Colonel Sept. 18, 2002
Brigadier General Sept. 26, 2008
Major General April 1, 2011
Lieutenant General Aug. 18, 2012
General Aug. 3, 2016

Private life[]

Lengyel is the son of Lieutenant Colonel Lauren R. "Laurie" Lengyel, USAF (Ret), an RF-4C Phantom II pilot, Vietnam War combat veteran and recipient of the Silver Star. Lt. Col. Lengyel was shot down during a combat mission over North Vietnam in August 1967 and was released in March 1973, following 2,044 days of captivity in North Vietnam as a Prisoner of War. Lengyel has two children.[2][3]

References[]

External links[]

Military offices
Preceded by
Frank J. Grass
Chief of the National Guard Bureau
2016–present
Incumbent
Order of precedence
Preceded by
David L. Goldfein
as Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force
Order of Precedence of the United States
as Chief of the National Guard Bureau
Succeeded by
Paul F. Zukunft
as Commandant of the Coast Guard
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