Brigadier General BRENDA P. CARTIER

Brig. Gen. Brenda P. Cartier is the Director of Operations and Communications, Headquarters Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. She is responsible for the world's largest training organization, providing initial skills, undergraduate flying, post graduate combat crew and supplemental training for more than 300,000 Air Force, joint and international personnel at 65 Air Force and Department of Defense locations. Brig. Gen. Cartier provides strategic vision, policy, guidance and advocacy to build, operate, secure, defend and extend the Air Force portion of the DoD global network. Additionally, she executes force development policy to ensure the training, education and experiences of total force Airmen achieve desired competencies to meet U.S. Air Force needs, providing the right Airman in the right place at the right time.

Brig. Gen. Cartier was commissioned through the U.S. Air Force Officer Training School in 1992, and was awarded her navigator wings in 1993. She has commanded at multiple levels and held various positions on major command and combatant command staffs, as well as the Joint Staff. She is a command navigator with more than 4,000 flying hours and was a National Security Affairs Fellow at the Hoover Institution for War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University, California. Prior to her current assignment, Brig. Gen. Cartier served as Vice Commander, 19th Air Force, at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas.

Brig. Gen. Cartier has deployed in support of U.S. Special Operations Command missions worldwide, including combat missions in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq.

EDUCATION
1988 Bachelor of Arts, Biology, University of California
1997 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2003 Master of Arts, Military Studies, Unconventional Warfare, American Military University, Manassas, Va.
2004 Master of Military Operational Art and Science, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2005 Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
2009 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2011 National Security Affairs Fellow, Stanford University, Calif.
2015 Air Force Enterprise Leadership Program, Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
2019 Combined Joint Force Special Operations Component Commander Course, MacDill AFB, Fla.

ASSIGNMENTS
1. April 1992‒March 1993, Student, Undergraduate Navigator Training, 452nd Flying Training Squadron, Mather Air Force Base, Calif.
2. March 1993‒June 1993, Student, E-3 Navigator Training, 966th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron, Tinker AFB, Okla.
3. June 1993‒September 1995, E-3 Navigator, Instructor Navigator and Chief of Training, 963rd Airborne Warning and Control Squadron, Tinker AFB, Okla.
4. September 1995‒September 1997, E-3 Evaluator Navigator, Deputy Chief of Safety, 966th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron, Tinker AFB, Okla.
5. September 1997‒March 1998, Student, AC-130U Navigator, 19th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
6. March 1998‒March 1999, AC-130U Navigator, 4th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
7. March 1999‒March 2000, Chief, Special Mission Plans, 4th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
8. March 2000‒June 2000, Student, AC-130U Fire Control Officer, 4th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
9. June 2000‒June 2002, Wing Anti-terrorism and Force Protection Officer, AC-130U Fire Control Officer, 1st Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
10. June 2002‒July 2003, Performance Reports Officer, AC-130U Fire Control Officer, 4th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
11. August 2003‒June 2004, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
12. June 2004‒June 2006, Commander’s Action Group, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill AFB, Fla.
13. June 2006‒June 2007, Deputy Director, U.S. Special Operations Command Office of Legislative Affairs, MacDill AFB, Fla.
14. June 2007‒February 2009, Operations Officer, 4th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
15. February 2009‒June 2010, Commander, 4th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
16. July 2009‒December 2009, Commander, 1st Expeditionary Special Operations Group, Bagram, Afghanistan
17. July 2010‒July 2011, National Security Affairs Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Calif.
18. August 2011‒June 2013, Deputy Director, Joint Operations Division Africa Command, Joint Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
19. June 2013‒July 2014, Special Assistant to the 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
20. July 2014‒June 2016, Vice Commander, Air Force Special Operations Air Warfare Center, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
21. June 2016‒July 2018, Commander, 58th Special Operations Wing, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
22. July 2018‒April 2020, Director of Operations, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
23. May 2020-June 2021, Vice Commander, 19th Air Force, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas
24. June 2021–present, Director of Operations and Communications, Headquarters Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas

SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 2004‒June 2006, Commander’s Action Group, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., as a major
2. June 2006‒June 2007, Deputy Director, U.S. Special Operations Command Office of Legislative Affairs, MacDill AFB, Fla., as a major
3. August 2011‒June 2013, Deputy Director Joint Operations Division Africa Command, Joint Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., as a colonel
4. June 2013‒July 2014, Special Assistant to the 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., as a colonel

FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating:  master navigator
Flight Hours:  more than 4,000
Aircraft Flown:  T-37, T-43, E-3B/C, MC-130H/W, MC-130J. AC-130U and U-28

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters
Bronze Star Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Service Medal
Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal
Air Force Combat Action Medal

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant April 8, 1992
First Lieutenant April 8, 1994
Captain April 8, 1996
Major Oct. 1, 2002
Lieutenant Colonel Dec. 1, 2006
Colonel May 1, 2012
Brigadier General Aug. 2, 2018

(Current as of November 2022)