• Source: List of United States Air Force lieutenant generals since 2020

The rank of lieutenant general (or three-star general) is the second-highest rank normally achievable in the United States Air Force, and the first to have a specified number of appointments set by statute. It ranks above major general (two-star general) and below general (four-star general).
There have been 65 lieutenant generals in the U.S. Air Force since 1 January 2020, four of whom were elevated to four-star general. All 65 achieved that rank while on active duty in the U.S. Air Force. Lieutenant generals entered the Air Force via several paths: 29 were commissioned via the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA), 22 via Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) at a civilian university, eight via Air Force Officer Training School (OTS), three via direct commission (direct), two via AFROTC at a senior military college, and one via the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA).




List of generals


Entries in the following list of lieutenant generals are indexed by the numerical order in which each officer was promoted to that rank while on active duty, or by an asterisk (*) if the officer did not serve in that rank while on active duty in the U.S. Air Force or was promoted to four-star rank while on active duty in the U.S. Air Force. Each entry lists the general's name, date of rank, active-duty positions held while serving at three-star rank, number of years of active-duty service at three-star rank (Yrs), year commissioned and source of commission, number of years in commission when promoted to three-star rank (YC), and other biographical notes (years of birth and death are shown in parentheses in the Notes column). Officers transferred to the U.S. Space Force in the grade of lieutenant general are included while having previously held that rank in the Air Force previously are included, while Air Force officers first promoted to lieutenant general in the U.S. Space Force are excluded.




Timeline






= 2020–present

=
For lieutenant generals who are dual-hatted as both numbered air force (NAF) commanders and commander or deputy commander of a joint force, the service-specific command is to be prioritized.




Background






= Modern use of the rank

=

Lieutenant generals in the United States Air Force typically serve in high-level command and staff positions, including as commanders of major commands (MAJCOMs), commanders of numbered air forces (NAF) that are concurrently designated as service component commands under a four-star unified combatant commander and deputy commanders of four-star major commands. Under the Air Staff, this includes the director of staff and deputy chiefs of staff (limited to 8 by statute), as well as the inspector general. High-level specialty positions such as the surgeon general, judge advocate general, and chief of Air Force Reserve may also hold three-star rank, though not by statute. The superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy and director of the Air National Guard have been three-star positions since 1983 and 2002 respectively.

About 30 to 50 joint service three-star billets exist at any given time that can be occupied by an Air Force lieutenant general, among the most prestigious being the director of the Joint Staff (DJS), principal staff advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and historically considered a stepping stone to four-star rank. All deputy commanders of the unified combatant commands are of three-star rank, as are directors of Defense Agencies not headed by a civilian such as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIRDIA). Internationally based three-star positions include the deputy chair of the NATO Military Committee (DCMC), United States military representative to the NATO Military Committee (USMILREP), and the security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian National Authority. All nominees for three-star rank must be confirmed via majority by the Senate before the appointee can take office and thus assume the rank.



Statutory limits, elevations and reductions


The U.S. Code states that no more than 44 officers in the U.S. Air Force may hold the rank of lieutenant general on the active duty list, aside from those on joint duty assignments. Three-star positions can be elevated to four-star status or reduced to two-star status where deemed necessary, either to highlight their increasing importance to the defense apparatus (or lack thereof) or to achieve parity with equivalent commands in other services or regions.

Lieutenant General Jeffrey A. Kruse was appointed the first advisor for military to the director of national intelligence on 17 August 2021 amid organizational changes to the ODNI. The role was created to serve as a "focal point" for the ODNI to communicate with the Department of Defense, including the under secretary of defense for intelligence and security, combat support agency directors and the combatant commands.



Senate confirmations

Military nominations are considered by the Senate Armed Services Committee. While it is rare for three-star or four-star nominations to face even token opposition in the Senate, nominations that do face opposition due to controversy surrounding the nominee in question are typically withdrawn. Nominations that are not withdrawn are allowed to expire without action at the end of the legislative session.

For example, the nomination of Major General Ryan F. Gonsalves for promotion to lieutenant general and assignment as commanding general of U.S. Army Europe was withdrawn in November 2017 after an investigation was launched into the general's inappropriate comment to a female Congressional staffer. As a result, Gonsalves was administratively reprimanded and retired in May 2018.
Additionally, events that take place after Senate confirmation may still delay or even prevent the nominee from assuming office.

For example, Major General John G. Rossi, who had been confirmed for promotion to lieutenant general and assignment as the commanding general of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command in April 2016 committed suicide two days before his scheduled promotion and assumption of command. As a result, the then incumbent commander of USASMDC, Lieutenant General David L. Mann, remained in command beyond customary term limits until another nominee, Major General James H. Dickinson was confirmed by the Senate.
The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act explicitly prohibits adding new general officer billets to the Space Force beyond the sole four-star billet of the chief of space operations. This necessitated that five Air Force three-star appointments be transferred to the Space Force, leaving them with 30 as opposed to 35 available three-star positions.

For example, the position of commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) was transferred to the Space Force as the center transitioned into the Space Systems Command (SSC), the second Space Force field command to be established. The last Air Force general to command SMC, Lieutenant General John F. Thompson retired in August 2021 to make way for Lieutenant General Michael A. Guetlein, who assumed command of Space Systems Command on 13 August 2021.




See also


Lieutenant general (United States)
General officers in the United States
List of active duty United States four-star officers
List of active duty United States three-star officers
List of United States Air Force four-star generals
List of lieutenant generals in the United States Air Force before 1960
List of United States Air Force lieutenant generals from 2000 to 2009
List of United States Air Force lieutenant generals from 2010 to 2019
List of United States Space Force lieutenant generals
List of United States military leaders by rank




References






= Notes

=




External links


"Senior Leader Announcements - United States Air Force". U.S. Air Force.
"Senior Leader Announcements - National Guard Bureau". National Guard Bureau.
"Releases - United States Department of Defense". U.S. Department of Defense.

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• List of United States Air Force lieutenant generals since 2020
• Lieutenant general (United States)
• List of United States Army lieutenant generals since 2020
• List of United States Air Force four-star generals
• List of United States Space Force lieutenant generals
• List of active duty United States three-star officers
• List of active duty United States four-star officers
• List of United States Army four-star generals
• List of lieutenant generals in the United States Air Force before 1960
• United States Air Force Pararescue