Brig. Gen. Robert J. Beletic is Vice Commander, 1st Air Force (Air Forces Northern), Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., and serves as the Deputy Joint Force Air Component Commander for U.S. Northern Command. He is the principal adviser to the commander and assists the commander in organizing, equipping and operating air forces in support of Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
General Beletic graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1983. He has had nine fighter assignments at bases in four major commands, and he is an outstanding graduate from the USAF Fighter Weapons School. The general commanded the 20th Operations Group at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., and the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill AFB, Utah. During staff tours, he served as the military assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force, as a Joint Staff NATO plans officer, and as the Director of Air Combat Command's Commander's Action Group. Following wing command, General Beletic served as a Division Chief in the Office of the Air Force Legislative Liaison, and then as the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Strategy Development Group. Prior to his current position, he served as the Deputy Commander, Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Region, Deputy Canadian CFACC and Deputy Commander for Operations, Winnipeg, Canada.
General Beletic, an F-16 instructor pilot and airborne forward air controller, is a command pilot with more than 4,200 hours of total flight time. He has more than 3,400 hours in the F-16, including more than 300 hours flown in combat employing rockets, precision-guided munitions, and combined effects munitions.
EDUCATION
1983 Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
1986 Squadron Officer School, by correspondence
1989 USAF Fighter Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev.
1992 Master's degree in public administration, University of Oklahoma
1995 Master's degree in aeronautical science, Embry-Riddle University
1997 Distinguished graduate, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
1997 Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
1999 Air War College, by correspondence
2001 NATO Defense College, Rome, Italy
2005 Congressional Operations, Government Affairs Institute, Washington, D.C.
2006 Leadership Development Program, Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, N.C.
2007 Air Force Enterprise Leadership Seminar, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2009 Joint Air and Space Operations Senior Staff Course, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
2009 Joint Force Air Component Commander Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2010 NDU CAPSTONE Course, Pacific Area Focus, Washington, D.C.
2011 Combined/Joint Force Land Component Commander Course, Carlisle Barracks, Penn.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 1983 - September 1983, soaring instructor, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2. September 1983 - October 1984, student, Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training, Sheppard AFB, Texas
3. January 1985 - July 1985, student, F-16 fighter training, Luke AFB, Ariz.
4. August 1985 - September 1987, squadron training officer and executive officer to the Director of Operations, 401st Tactical Fighter Wing, Torrejon Air Base, Spain
5. November 1987 - December 1990, chief weapons officer, 14th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Misawa AB, Japan
6. December 1990 - October 1993, flight commander and chief weapons officer, 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Eglin AFB, Fla.
7. October 1993 - March 1994, assistant operations officer, 526th Fighter Squadron, Ramstein AB, Germany
8. March 1994 - July 1996, officer in charge, Weapons Standardization and Standardization and Evaluation, 31st Fighter Wing, Aviano AB, Italy
9. August 1996 - June 1997, student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
10. August 1997 - July 1999, Joint Staff plans officer, NATO AIRSOUTH, Naples, Italy
11. July 1999 - January 2001, military assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force, Washington, D.C.
12. January 2001 - July 2001, student, NATO Defense College, Rome, Italy
13. July 2001 - January 2003, Deputy Commander, 31st Operations Group, Aviano AB, Italy
14. January 2003 - May 2004, Commander, 20th Operations Group, Shaw AFB, S.C.
15. May 2004 - May 2005, Director, Commander's Action Group, Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va.
16. May 2005 - July 2007, Commander, 388th Fighter Wing, Hill AFB, Utah
17. July 2007 - February 2008, Division Chief, Weapons, Legislative Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, Washington, D.C.
18. February 2008 - June 2009, Chief, Joint Chiefs of Staff Strategy Development Group, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
19. June 2009 - June 2011, Deputy Commander, Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Region, and Deputy Commander for Operations, 1st Air Division, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
20. July 2011 - present, Vice Commander, 1st Air Force (Air Forces Northern), Tyndall AFB, Fla.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. August 1997 - July 1999, Joint Staff plans officer, NATO AIRSOUTH, Naples, Italy, as a major
2. February 2008 - June 2009, Chief, Joint Chiefs of Staff Strategy Development Group, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., as a colonel
3. June 2009 - June 2011, Deputy Commander, Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Region, Winnipeg, Canada, as a brigadier general
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command pilot
Flight hours: More than 4,200 (more than 3,400 in the F-16), including 300 combat hours
Aircraft flown: F-16 (Blocks 10-50)
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Canadian Meritorious Service Medal
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
1983 American Fighter Aces Association Award (U.S. Air Force Academy Outstanding Cadet in Airmanship)
1984 Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Award
1989 Outstanding graduate, USAF Fighter Weapons School
1992 Test Pilot of the Year, USAF Warfare Center
1994 Aviator of the Year, 16th Air Force
1996 Lt. Gen. Claire Lee Chennault Award (USAF Outstanding Aerial Warfare Tactician)
2001 NATO Defense College's highest rating
2002-2008 Tested fluent (3,3) in Italian
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant June 1, 1983
First Lieutenant June 1, 1985
Captain June 1, 1987
Major March 1, 1995
Lieutenant Colonel July 1, 1999
Colonel Aug. 1, 2003
Brigadier General July 3, 2009
(Current as of September 2013)