MAJOR GENERAL KIP L. SELF

Maj. Gen. Kip L. Self is the Director of Operational Planning, Policy and Strategy, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans and Requirements, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. He is responsible for the development and integration of operational strategies, organization concepts, policies and plans supporting all elements of aerospace power employment. The directorate's six divisions orchestrate Air Force participation in joint and regional war and mobilization planning communities; operator and warfighter talks with allies and sister services; strategic planning for missile defense; combating weapons of mass destruction; and compliance with international agreements. General Self supervises the Air Force's concept of operations development as well as its interface with Joint Staff and National Security Council issues. His responsibilities cross multiple functional Air Staff and Office of Secretary of Defense staff boundaries, to include interpretation of national and defense guidance, policy and objectives for use in planning, directing and supervising all major efforts in the execution of capabilities-based planning.

General Self is a 1978 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and management. He has held a variety of flying assignments as a helicopter and fixed-wing instructor pilot. The general's staff assignments include political-military planner on the Joint Staff, and country director in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He has also served as Deputy Director of Operations at Headquarters Air Mobility Command. He has commanded at various levels, including the squadron, group and wing levels. Prior to his current assignment, the general was Commander of the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center, Fort Dix, N.J.

General Self served as special operations mission commander in support of Operation Joint Endeavor, and he deployed as Director of Mobility Forces in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, he was Commander of a Global Mobility Task Force in Southwest Asia. General Self is a command pilot with more than 4,000 hours in UH-1, T-38, C-141B, C-17 and C-130 aircraft.

EDUCATION
1978 Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and management, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
1982 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
1982 Master of Science degree in systems management, University of Southern California
1982 Marine Corps Command and Staff College, by correspondence
1985 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
1997 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.

ASSIGNMENTS
1. November 1978 - November 1979, student, undergraduate helicopter training, Fort Rucker, Ala.
2. November 1979 - March 1983, helicopter flight examiner, 475th Air Base Wing, Yokota Air Base, Japan
3. March 1983 - September 1984, helicopter instructor pilot, 1st Helicopter Squadron, Andrews AFB, Md.
4. September 1984 - August 1986, Air Staff Training officer, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
5. August 1986 - June 1989, C-141 instructor pilot and airlift operations director, 62nd Military Airlift Wing, McChord AFB, Wash.
6. June 1989 - July 1992, Chief of Rated Officer Assignments, Headquarters Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill.
7. August 1992 - June 1993, assistant executive officer to the Commander, Headquarters AMC, Scott AFB, Ill.
8. June 1993 - February 1996, Director of Operations then Commander, 16th Airlift Squadron, Charleston AFB, S.C.
9. March 1996 - August 1996, Deputy Commander, 437th Operations Group, Charleston AFB, S.C.
10. August 1996 - June 1997, student, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
11. June 1997 - August 1998, political-military planner, Western Hemisphere, Strategic Plans and Policy (J5), Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
12. August 1998 - June 2000, country director for International Security Affairs, Office of Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C.
13. June 2000 - June 2002, Commander, 621st Air Mobility Operations Group, McGuire AFB, N.J.
14. June 2002 - July 2003, special assistant to the 21st Air Force Commander for the Global Mobility Task Force, McGuire AFB, N.J.
15. July 2003 - September 2005, Deputy Director of Operations, Headquarters Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill.
16. September 2005 - May 2007, Commander, 314th Airlift Wing, and Installation Commander, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
17. May 2007 - October 2009, Commander, U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center, Fort Dix, N.J.
18. October 2009 - present, Director of Operational Planning, Policy and Strategy, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans and Requirements, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.

SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 1997 - August 1998, political-military planner, Western Hemisphere, Strategic Plans and Policy (J5), Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., as a lieutenant colonel
2. August 1998 - June 2000, country director, International Security Affairs, Office of Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C., as a lieutenant colonel and colonel

FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command pilot
Flight hours: More than 4,000
Aircraft flown: UH-1, T-38, C-141B, C-17 and C-130

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters
Bronze Star Medal with oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Joint Meritorious Unit Award with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with four oak leaf clusters
Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with oak leaf cluster
Combat Readiness Medal with three oak leaf clusters
National Defense Service Medal with bronze star
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with bronze star
Southwest Asia Service Medal with bronze star
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Humanitarian Service Medal
Kuwait Liberation Medal (Government of Kuwait)

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 31, 1978
First Lieutenant May 31, 1980
Captain May 31, 1982
Major March 1, 1989
Lieutenant Colonel March 1, 1994
Colonel May 1, 1999
Brigadier General Feb. 1, 2005
Major General  Nov. 30, 2007

(Current as of December 2010)