Major General CHAD P. FRANKS

Maj. Gen. Chad P. Franks is the Commander, 15th Air Force, Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. Fifteenth Air Force organizes, trains and equips its headquarters to be a deployable, operational-level Joint Task Force and its subordinate commands to prepare for and execute expeditionary taskings. Additionally, 15th Air Force commands 13 wings and three direct reporting units in the U.S., ensuring the operational readiness of about 800 aircraft and more than 45,000 active duty and civilian members.

Maj. Gen. Franks was commissioned in 1990 as a graduate of the University of New Orleans Air Force ROTC program. He has served in a variety of flying positions during assignments in Air Force Special Operations Command, Air Education and Training Command and Air Combat Command. He has commanded at the wing, group and squadron level. He has deployed in support of operations Provide Comfort, Northern Watch, Allied Force, Iraqi Freedom and Inherent Resolve. Prior to his current assignment, the general was the Ninth Air Force Commander at Shaw AFB.

Maj. Gen. Franks is a command pilot with more than 3,300 hours.

EDUCATION
1990 Bachelor of Arts, General Studies, University of New Orleans, La.
1997 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2003 Master’s degree, Military Operational Art, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2004 Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk Naval Station, Va.
2010 Master’s degree, Strategic Art, Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pa.

ASSIGNMENTS
1. March 1991–August 1992, Air Traffic Control Officer Training, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.
2. August 1992–April 1994, Chief, Air Traffic Control Officer, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.
3. April 1994–October 1994, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Laughlin AFB, Texas
4. October 1994–May 1995, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Fort Rucker, Ala.
5. October 1995–April 2000, Instructor Pilot and Flight Commander, 55th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
6. April 2000–July 2002, Evaluator Pilot, Flight Commander and Assistant Director of Operations, 84th Flying Training Squadron, Laughlin AFB, Texas
7. July 2002–June 2003, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
8. July 2003–May 2005, Futures Analyst Staff Officer, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill AFB, Fla.
9. May 2005–June 2007, Operations Officer, 512th Rescue Squadron, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
10. June 2007–June 2009, Commander, 66th Rescue Squadron, Nellis AFB, Nev.
11. July 2009–June 2010, Student, Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pa.
12. July 2010–July 2012, Commander, 347th Rescue Group, Moody AFB, Ga.
13. August 2012–June 2013, Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force Central Command, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar
14. July 2013–July 2015, Commander, 23rd Wing, Moody AFB, Ga.
15. July 2015–August 2016, Senior Executive Officer to the Vice Chief of Staff, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
16. August 2016–April 2018, Vice Commander, 14th Air Force, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
17. May 2018–June 2019, Deputy Commander for Operations and Intelligence, Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve and Commander, 9th Air Expeditionary Task Force-Levant, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait
18. June 2019–August 2020, Commander, Ninth Air Force, Shaw AFB, S.C.
19. August 2020–present, Commander, 15th Air Force, Shaw AFB, S.C.

SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 2003–May 2005, Future Concepts Staff Officer, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill AFB, Fla., as a major
2. July 2012–June 2013, Director of Staff, U.S. Air Force Central Command, Al Udeid AB, Qatar, as a colonel

FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating:  command pilot
Flight Hours:  more than 3,300
Aircraft Flown:  T-37, UH-1, UH-1N, HC-130J and MH/HH-60G

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Silver Star
Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters
Bronze Star with oak leaf cluster
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Aerial Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal
Iraq Campaign Medal with oak leaf cluster
Kosovo Campaign Medal
NATO Medal with oak leaf cluster

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant Oct. 23, 1990
First Lieutenant Oct. 23, 1992
Captain Oct. 23, 1994
Major Dec. 1, 2001
Lieutenant Colonel March 1, 2006
Colonel Oct. 1, 2009
Brigadier General May 3, 2016
Major General May 2, 2019

(Current as of August 2020)