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Norton Schwartz
Norton A Schwartz 2008 2
Official portrait of Chief of Staff of the Air Force
Born December 14, 1951(1951-12-14) (age 72)
Place of birth Toms River, New Jersey, U.S.
Allegiance United States
Service/branch Flag of the United States Air Force United States Air Force
Years of service 1973–2012
Rank US-O10 insignia General
Commands held Chief of Staff of the Air Force
U.S. Transportation Command
Eleventh Air Force
Alaskan Command
U.S. Special Operations Command-Pacific
16th Special Operations Wing
36th Airlift Squadron
Battles/wars Gulf War
Awards Defense Distinguished Service Medal (4)
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal (2)
Defense Superior Service Medal (2)
Legion of Merit (3)
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal (3)
Air Force Commendation Medal (2)
Army Commendation Medal

Norton Allan Schwartz[1] (born December 14, 1951)[2] is a retired United States Air Force general[3] who served as the 19th Chief of Staff of the Air Force.[4] He previously served as Commander, United States Transportation Command from September 2005 to August 2008. As Chief of Staff, he served as the senior uniformed Air Force officer responsible for the organization, training and equipping of nearly 700,000 active-duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian forces serving in the United States and overseas. As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the general and other service chiefs function as military advisers to the Secretary of Defense, National Security Council and the President. He Became Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force August 12, 2008.

General Schwartz graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1973. He is an alumnus of the National War College, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a 1994 Fellow of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Seminar XXI. He has served as Commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command-Pacific, as well as Alaskan Command, Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region and the 11th Air Force.

General Schwartz is a command pilot with more than 4,400 flying hours in a variety of aircraft. He participated as a crewmember in the 1975 airlift evacuation of Saigon, and in 1991 served as Chief of Staff of the Joint Special Operations Task Force for Northern Iraq in operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. In 1997, he led the Joint Task Force that prepared for the noncombatant evacuation of U.S. citizens in Cambodia.

General Schwartz is the first Air Force Chief of Staff not to have a background as a fighter or bomber pilot, and it is speculated that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates picked him for that reason.[5]

General Norton Schwartz portrait painting for USAF by Michele Rushworth

Official Air Force portrait painting of General Norton Schwartz painted by Michele Rushworth

Background[]

Schwartz grew up in Toms River, New Jersey,[6] the son of a typewriter salesman.[7] The first Jewish Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Schwartz was a member of the U.S. Air Force Academy Jewish choir before his 1973 graduation.[8] In 2004 General Schwartz was awarded the Jewish Community Center's Military Leadership Award. In accepting the award, General Schwartz said he was "proud to be identified as Jewish as well as an American military leader."

Education[]

Assignments[]

  1. August 1973 – September 1974, student, undergraduate pilot training, Laughlin AFB, Texas
  2. October 1974 – January 1975, student, C-130 initial qualification training, Little Rock AFB, Arkansas
  3. February 1975 – October 1977, C-130E aircraft commander, 776th and 21st Tactical Airlift Squadrons, Clark Air Base, Philippines
  4. October 1977 – December 1977, student, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
  5. December 1977 – October 1979, C-130E/H flight examiner, 61st Tactical Airlift Squadron, Little Rock AFB, Arkansas
  6. October 1979 – November 1980, intern, Air Staff Training Program, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans, Operations and Readiness, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
  7. November 1980 – July 1983, MC-130E flight examiner, 8th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Florida
  8. July 1983 – January 1984, student, Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia
  9. January 1984 – April 1986, action officer, Directorate of Plans, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations, Headquarters, U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
  10. May 1986 – June 1988, Commander, 36th Tactical Airlift Squadron, McChord AFB, Washington
  11. August 1988 – June 1989, student, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
  12. July 1989 – July 1991, Director of Plans and Policy, Special Operations Command Europe, Patch Barracks, Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany
  13. August 1991 – May 1993, Deputy Commander for Operations and Commander, 1st Special Operations Group, Hurlburt Field, Florida
  14. May 1993 – May 1995, Deputy Director of Operations, later, Deputy Director of Forces, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations, Headquarters, U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
  15. June 1995 – May 1997, Commander, 16th Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Florida
  16. June 1997 – October 1998, Commander, Special Operations Command, Pacific, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii
  17. October 1998 – January 2000, Director of Strategic Planning, Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
  18. January 2000 – September 2000, Deputy Commander in Chief, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill AFB, Florida
  19. September 2000 – October 2002, Commander, Alaskan Command, Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region and 11th Air Force, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska.
  20. October 2002 – October 2004, Director for Operations, the Joint Staff, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
  21. October 2004 – August 2005, Director, the Joint Staff, Pentagon, Washington, D. C.
  22. September 2005 – September 2008, Commander, U.S. Transportation Command, Scott AFB, Illinois
  23. August 2008 – August 2012, Chief of Staff, Headquarters, U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.

Flight information[]

Awards and decorations[]

COMMAND PILOT WINGS Air Force Command Pilot Badge
US Army Airborne basic parachutist badge Parachutist Badge
Joint Chiefs of Staff seal Joint Chiefs of Staff Badge
Headquarters US Air Force Badge Headquarters Air Force Badge
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Defense Distinguished Service ribbon
Defense Distinguished Service Medal with three bronze oak leaf clusters
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Distinguished Service ribbon
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
US Defense Superior Service Medal ribbon
Defense Superior Service Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Width-44 crimson ribbon with a pair of width-2 white stripes on the edges
Legion of Merit with two bronze oak leaf clusters
Defense Meritorious Service ribbon Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Width-44 crimson ribbon with two width-8 white stripes at distance 4 from the edges.
Meritorious Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation ribbon
Air Force Commendation Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster
Width-44 myrtle green ribbon with width-3 white stripes at the edges and five width-1 stripes down the center; the central white stripes are width-2 apart Army Commendation Medal
Air Force Achievement ribbon Air Force Achievement Medal
Silver oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Joint Meritorious Unit Award ribbon
Joint Meritorious Unit Award with silver and three bronze oak leaf clusters
V
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Outstanding Unit ribbon
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor device and three bronze oak leaf clusters
Outstanding Unit ribbon Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (Fifth award requires second ribbon due to accouterment spacing)
Organizational Excellence ribbon Air Force Organizational Excellence Award
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Combat Readiness Medal ribbon
Combat Readiness Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters
Bronze star
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 two service stars
Bronze star
Bronze star
Width-44 ribbon with the following stripes, arranged symmetrically from the edges to the center: width-2 black, width-4 chamois, width-2 Old Glory blue, width-2 white, width-2 Old Glory red, width-6 chamouis, width-3 myrtle green up to a central width-2 black stripe
Southwest Asia Service Medal with two service stars
Global War on Terrorism Service ribbon Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Humanitarian Service ribbon
Humanitarian Service Medal with three service stars
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 bronze oak leaf cluster
Silver oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Longevity Service ribbon
Air Force Longevity Service Award with silver and three bronze oak leaf clusters
USAF Marksmanship ribbon Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon
Air Force Training Ribbon Air Force Training Ribbon
POL Order Zaslugi RP kl3 BAR Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland[9]
Us kw-kwlib rib Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)

Effective dates of promotion[]

Promotions
Insignia Rank Date
US-O10 insignia General October 1, 2005
US-O9 insignia Lieutenant General  January 18, 2000
US-O8 insignia Major General March 4, 1999
US-O7 insignia Brigadier General January 1, 1996
US-O6 insignia Colonel February 1, 1991
US-O5 insignia Lieutenant Colonel March 1, 1985
US-O4 insignia Major November 1, 1982
US-O3 insignia Captain June 6, 1977
US-O2 insignia First Lieutenant June 6, 1975
US-OF1B Second Lieutenant June 6, 1973

References[]

External links[]

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