Maj. Gen. Kurt B. Anderson is commander of the 19th Air Force, Air Education and Training Command, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. He is responsible for the training continuum for more than 2,000 U.S. and allied students each day, from entry into the flight screening program through graduation from combat crew training as fully qualified aircrews for the warfighting commands. The 19th Air Force is composed of more than 25,000 assigned personnel and 1,600 aircraft in 18 units throughout the United States.
The general was born in Jamestown, N.D., and attended high school in Sioux Falls, S.D. He earned his commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at South Dakota State University in 1967. In April 1968, he completed pilot training as a distinguished graduate at Reese Air Force Base, Texas, and began his flying career as a fighter pilot. His initial assignment took him to Europe in the F-102. He then transitioned to the F-100 and flew combat missions in Vietnam. As commander of the 19th Air Force, the general is on his seventh consecutive command tour, having previously served as an air base group commander, twice as a wing commander, commander of Air Force Recruiting Service, and twice as commander of multination task forces enforcing United Nations resolutions and no-fly zones over Iraq.
EDUCATION
1967 Bachelor of science degree in economics, South Dakota State University, Brookings
1975 Master of arts degree in business, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley
1987 Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. March 1967 - April 1968, student pilot, Reese Air Force Base, Texas
2. April 1968 - September 1968, F-102 pilot training, Perrin Air Force Base, Texas
3. October 1968 - June 1970, F-102 pilot, 526th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, West Germany
4. June 1970 - March 1971, F-100 pilot training, Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.
5. March 1971 - August 1971, pilot, 352nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, Phan Rang Air Base, South Vietnam
6. August 1971 - March 1972, base operations officer, Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand
7. March 1972 - October 1976, instructor pilot, flight commander, check section chief and wing air operations officer, 54th Flying Training Squadron, Reese Air Force Base, Texas
8. October 1976 - January 1979, flight commander, instructor pilot and assistant operations officer, 334th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.
9. January 1979 - January 1982, chief, air capabilities and tactics branch, U.S. Air Forces in Europe, intelligence, and executive officer for the USAFE assistant deputy chief of staff for operations, Ramstein Air Base, West Germany
10. January 1982 - December 1982, chief, weapons and tactics, 4th Tactical Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.
11. December 1982 - November 1983, operations officer, 336th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.
12. November 1983 - October 1985, commander, 334th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.
13. October 1985 - July 1986, special assistant to vice commander, 4th Tactical Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.
14. July 1986 - June 1987, student, Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
15. June 1987 - July 1989, assistant deputy director for operations, National Military Command Center, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
16. July 1989 - June 1990, commander, 82nd Air Base Group, Williams Air Force Base, Ariz.
17. June 1990 - September 1992, commander, 82nd Flying Training Wing, Williams Air Force Base, Ariz.
18. September 1992 - September 1994, commander, 48th Fighter Wing, Royal Air Force Station Lakenheath, England; (January 1993 - July 1993, commander, Combined Task Force, Operation Provide Comfort, Incirlik Air Base, Turkey)
19. September 1994 - April 1996, commander, Air Force Recruiting Service, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas
20. April 1996 - April 1997, commander, Joint Task Force Southwest Asia, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
21. April 1997 - present, commander, 19th Air Force, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command pilot
Flight hours: More than 3,600
Aircraft flown: F-15C/E, F-4, F-100, F-102 and T-38
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Legion of Merit
Distinguished Flying Cross
Purple Heart
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with silver star
(Current as of September 1998)