The superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy is the senior officer and commander of the
United States Air Force Academy in
Colorado Springs, Colorado. The position is normally held by an active duty Air Force
lieutenant general, and is roughly equivalent to the president of a university. Because the Academy is a
Direct Reporting Unit, the superintendent reports directly to the
Air Force Chief of Staff. The superintendent oversees all aspects of the Academy, including military training, academics, athletics, admissions and the base infrastructure.
The position of superintendent is established by statute, under 10 U.S.C. § 9333[1] and 10 U.S.C. § 9333a.[2] Under those sections of law, the superintendent is appointed by the
president of the United States, must serve as superintendent at least three years, and must retire at the end of his tour as superintendent, unless the retirement is waived by the
Secretary of Defense under 10 U.S.C. § 8921.[3] The practice of mandatory retirement has changed over time, however, as many early superintendents went on to higher positions in the Air Force after their terms at the Academy.
Although it is not an official requirement for the position, nearly all superintendents have received their commissions from the academy (or from the
USMA, if they graduated prior to the establishment of the USAFA).
List of superintendents of the United States Air Force Academy
^Lieutenant general; pursuit/fighter and bomber pilot;
World War II veteran; commander of allied air units in the
Solomon Islands campaign (March–June 1944); first academy superintendent, served while the Academy was temporarily based at
Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado; main administration building at the Academy, Harmon Hall, is named in his honor
^Lieutenant general; pursuit/fighter pilot; World War II veteran; oversaw the Academy's move to its permanent location in
Colorado Springs; later commanded
Air Training Command (1959-1963)
^General; bomber pilot; World War II veteran; associate professor of social sciences at West Point (1946-1950); later air deputy to the
Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1966-1968)
^Lieutenant general; bomber pilot; World War II and
Korean War veteran; later served as deputy assistant secretary of defense (international security affairs) for military assistance and sales (1969-1971)
^Lieutenant general; observation and reconnaissance pilot; World War II veteran; 16 years of weather operations culminating as
Air Weather Service commander; vice commander in chief of
Pacific Air Forces (1961-1965)
^Lieutenant general; fighter pilot; Vietnam War veteran; later Vice Commander of
Tactical Air Command)
^Lieutenant general; fighter pilot; Korean War and Vietnam War veteran; also served as commander,
Alaskan Air Command (1978-1981), and deputy commander,
United States Forces Korea (1981-1983); completed the Academy's
freefall parachute training while superintendent—the oldest and highest-ranking person to earn
jump wings through that program
^Lieutenant general; fighter pilot; Vietnam War veteran; Pilot with the
Thunderbirds (1964-1966)
^Lieutenant general; fighter pilot; first graduate in the order of merit in the first class at the Academy; Academy's first
Rhodes Scholar; first Academy graduate to return as superintendent; president of
National Defense University (1986-1989)
^Lieutenant general; fighter pilot; Vietnam War veteran; resigned as superintendent in the wake of the
2003 sexual assault scandal; demoted to
major general upon his retirement
^Lieutenant general; fighter pilot; later served as president of
The Citadel, (2005-present)
^Lieutenant general; personnel officer; commander of
Air University (2004-2005)
^Lieutenant general; first female superintendent of a United States service academy, following Rear Admiral Sandra L. Stosz of the United States Coast Guard Academy; transport and tanker pilot; director of strategy, policy, programs and logistics,
U.S. Transportation Command (2009-2011); deputy chief of staff, operations and intelligence,
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (2011-2013);
Rhodes Scholar, Class of 1983; has also served as a USAFA assistant professor of political science,
USAF aide to the president, and commander of the 97th Operations Group at Altus AFB, Oklahoma.
^Lieutenant General; fighter pilot; Deputy Commander, U.S. Air Forces Central Command; Commander, U.S. Air Force Warfare Center; Vice Commander, 14th Air Force; aide-de-camp to Supreme Allied Commander Europe.