Commandant of Cadets of the United States Air Force Academy

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]

List of commandants of cadets

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, 255 days	USAFA 1995	[30]
31		Brigadier General Gavin P. Marks	June 21, 2023	Incumbent	1 year, 230 days	USAFA 1996	[31]

References

Notes

1. Major general; bomber and reconnaissance pilot; World War II veteran and prisoner of war; first commandant at the Academy; later commanded the Lackland Military Training Center (1958–1961); named to the Sports Illustrated magazine Silver Anniversary All-American football team (1959)
2. Major general; bomber pilot; World War II veteran; later served as deputy chief of staff, operations, Headquarters Allied Air Forces Central Europe, and commander of all U.S. Air Force personnel assigned to the NATO headquarters and its supporting units
3. Renowned fighter pilot; World War II, Korean and Vietnam War veteran; triple ace with 16 confirmed air-to-air kills
4. First USAFA graduate Commandant. His son, Colonel Robert D. Beckel, Jr.[12] was a cadet during his tenure.
5. Lieutenant General, fighter pilot, later became commander of Air Force Operational Test & Evaluation Center (AFOTEC), Inspector General US Air Force
6. First African American Commandant
7. Retired Commander, Air Education and Training Command. Promoted to General Jul 2, 2008.
8. Retired Chief of Staff, USAF. Promoted to General Dec 13, 2010.
9. First female Commandant
10. B-1 bomber pilot. Promoted to Lt Gen Oct 21, 2016. Currently twenty-first superintendent of US Air Force Academy.
11. BMajor General; helicopter pilot
12. F-16C/D Pilot. Promoted to Major General Aug 3, 2018
13. B-2A, B-52 Pilot
14. First Commandant with a Space Warfare background

References

1. Haulman, Daniel L. (April 25, 2018). "Factsheet Commandant of Cadets (USAFA)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
2. "Major General Robert M. Stillman". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
3. "Major General Henry R. Sullivan". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
4. "Brigadier General William T. Seawell". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
5. "Major General Robert William Strong Jr". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
6. "General Louis Theodore Seith". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
7. "Brigadier General Robin Olds". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
8. "Lieutenant General Walter T. Galligan". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
9. "Major General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, Jr". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
10. "Major General Stanley C. Beck". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
11. "General Thomas C. Richards". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
12. "Biographies : COLONEL ROBERT D. BECKEL JR". 505ccw.acc.af.mil. Archived from the original on 2015-05-24. Retrieved 2015-05-24.
13. "Lieutenant General Robert D. Beckel". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
14. "Lieutenant General Anthony J. Burshnick". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
15. "Lieutenant General Marcus A. Anderson". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
16. "Major General Sam W. Westbrook III". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
17. "Lieutenant General Joseph J. Redden". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
18. "Lieutenant General Richard C. Bethurem". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
19. "General Patrick K. Gamble". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
20. "Lieutenant General John D. Hopper". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
21. "General Stephen R. Lorenz". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
22. "Lieutenant General Mark A. Welsh III". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
23. "Brigadier General S. Taco Gilbert III". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
24. "Major General Johnny A. Weida". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
25. "Brigadier General Susan Y. Desjardins". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
26. "Brigadier General Samuel D. Cox". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
27. "Brig. Gen. Richard M. Clark". USAFA. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
28. "Brig. Gen. Gregory J. Lengyel". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2012-04-29.
29. "New commandant of cadets heading to AFA". Colorado Springs Gazette. Archived from the original on 2012-05-07. Retrieved 2012-04-29.
30. Bowden, Ray (2021-05-27). "Academy's new commandant reports for duty". United States Air Force Academy. U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
31. "Brig. Gen. Marks takes command of Cadet Wing". 21 June 2023.