Major General ALBERT M. ELTON II

Maj. Gen. Albert M. “Buck” Elton II is the Commanding General of Special Operations Joint Task Force –Afghanistan and the Commanding General of NATO Special Operations Component Command –Afghanistan, Bagram, Afghanistan. He exercises command authority of all U.S and NATO Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan.

General Elton graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1989. He is a command pilot with more than 4,300 flying hours, including 190 combat hours in Afghanistan, Iraq and Bosnia. The general has commanded at the squadron, group and wing levels, and commanded joint forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and Haiti.  He has served on the combatant command, major command and the Joint Staff.

EDUCATION
1989 Bachelor of Science, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
1995 Air Force Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
1996 Master of Aviation Science, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Fla.
2002 U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
2008 National Defense Fellowship, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif.
2009 Joint and Combined Warfighting School, Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va. 
2013 Senior Joint Information Operations Applications Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2016 Combined and Joint Force Land Component Commander Course, Carlisle Barracks, Pa.

ASSIGNMENTS
1.  1989 - 1990, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Reese AFB, Texas
2.  1991 - 1994, Aircraft Commander, 37th Tactical Airlift Squadron, Rhein-Main AB, Del.
3.  1994 - 1998, Evaluator Pilot, 15th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
4.  1998 - 1999, Evaluator Pilot, 550th Special Operations Squadron, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
5.  1999 - 2001, Fixed Wing Chief, 58th Operations Group Standards and Evaluation, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
6.  2001 - 2002, Student, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
7.  2002 - 2004, Fixed Wing Branch Chief and J35 Planner, USSOCOM, MacDill AFB, Fla.
8.  2004 - 2005, Operations Officer, 8th Special Operations Squadron, Duke Field, Fla.
9.  2005 - 2007, Commander, 7th Special Operations Squadron, RAF Mildenhall, England
10.  2007 - 2008, National Defense Fellow, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif.
11.  2008 - 2009, Chief, Strategic Planning Division, AFSOC, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
12.  2009 - 2011, Commander, 1st Special Operations Group, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
13.  2011 - 2013, Commander, 27th Special Operations Wing, Cannon AFB, N.M.
14.  2013 - 2014, Director, Strategic Plans, Programs, and Requirements, AFSOC, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
15.  2014 - 2016, Deputy Commanding General of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Fort Bragg, N.C.
16.  2016 - 2018, Deputy Director for Special Operations and Counterterrorism (J37) for the Joint Staff, the 
Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
17. 2018 – present, Commanding General, SOJTF-A and Commanding General, NSOCC-A, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan

SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
June 2002 - May 2004, Fixed Wing Branch Chief, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill AFB, Fla., as a major 
June 2014 - June 2016, Deputy Commanding General, JSOC, Fort Bragg, N.C., as a major general
June 2016 – May 2018 Deputy Director for Special Operations and Counterterrorism (J37), the Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., as a major general
June 2018 – present, Commanding General, SOJTF-A and Commanding General, NSOCC-A, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, as a major general

FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight hours: more than 4300 flying hours, including 190 combat hours, 800 instructor hours and 250 evaluator hours
Aircraft: C-130E, MC-130H, MC-130E, MQ-1B

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster 
Bronze Star with oak leaf cluster
Defense Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster 
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters 
Air Medal with oak leaf cluster
Aerial Achievement Medal

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 1989 
First Lieutenant May 1991 
Captain May 1993
Major October 2000 
Lieutenant Colonel April 2004 
Colonel September 2008 
Brigadier General July 2013
Major General April 2017

(Current as of July 2018)