LIEUTENANT GENERAL NORMAN R. SEIP

Lt. Gen. Norman R. Seip is Commander, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern), Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. Twelfth Air Force comprises seven active-duty wings and two direct-reporting units in the western and midwestern United States. The fighter and bomber wings possess 400 aircraft and more than 33,000 active-duty military and civilian personnel. The two direct-reporting units, the 3rd Combat Communications Group and the 820th Red Horse Squadron, comprise more than 1,000 personnel. He is also responsible for the operational readiness of 12th Air Force-gained wings of the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, including an additional 18,800 personnel and more than 200 aircraft. As the Commander, Air Forces Southern, a component to the Combatant Commander, U.S. Southern Command, he oversees Air Force assets, five forward-operating locations, and civil and military engagements in Central and South America as well as the Caribbean.

General Seip entered the Air Force after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1974. He has commanded two squadrons, an operations group and a wing. The general was an exchange officer with the U.S. Navy serving with VF-41 on board the USS Nimitz. He has also served in key positions during tours with Air Combat Command, the Air Staff and Joint Staff.

General Seip is a command pilot with more than 4,500 flying hours, primarily in fighter aircraft. He flew the F-15E in support of operations Southern Watch, Northern Watch and Iraqi Freedom. As the Deputy Combined Forces Air Component Commander for U.S. Central Command, General Seip had a direct impact in supporting combat operations in operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.

EDUCATION
1974 Bachelor's degree in history, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
1977 Squadron Officer School, by correspondence
1980 Master's degree in public administration, Golden Gate University, San Francisco, Calif.
1984 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
1994 Air War College, by seminar

ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 1974 - July 1975, student, undergraduate pilot training, Craig Air Force Base, Ala.
2. September 1975 - February 1976, RF-4 student pilot, 33rd Tactical Reconnaissance Training Squadron, Shaw AFB, S.C.
3. February 1976 - February 1979, RF-4C instructor pilot and Chief of Standardization and Evaluation, 62nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Shaw AFB, S.C.
4. February 1979 - August 1979, F-4D student pilot, 63rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, MacDill AFB, Fla.
5. August 1979 - February 1982, F-4E instructor pilot, and standardization and evaluation officer, 18th and 43rd tactical fighter squadrons, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska
6. February 1982 - June 1982, F-15 student pilot, 555th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, Luke AFB, Ariz.
7. June 1982 - August 1983, F-15 pilot and Chief of Training, 43rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska
8. August 1983 - April 1984, student pilot, F-14 Flight Replacement Training Squadron, Officer Exchange Program, Oceana Naval Air Station, Va.
9. April 1984 - March 1986, F-14 pilot, weapons training officer and assistant operations officer, Officer Exchange Program, VF-41, Oceana Soucek Field, Va., and USS Nimitz
10. March 1986 - April 1988, F-15 pilot and flight commander, 48th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Langley AFB, Va.
11. April 1988 - August 1991, F-16 Program Manager, executive special assistant for Director of Plans and Programs, and executive officer to the Director of Operations, Headquarters Tactical Air Command, Langley AFB, Va.
12. August 1991 - December 1991, F-15E student pilot, 461st Fighter Squadron, Luke AFB, Ariz.
13. December 1991 - August 1992, F-15E pilot and Chief of Quality Improvement, 335th Fighter Squadron, later, Chief of Standardization and Evaluation, 4th Operations Group, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.
14. August 1992 - May 1993, operations officer, 336th Fighter Squadron, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.
15. May 1993 - May 1994, Commander, 4th Operations Support Squadron, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.
16. May 1994 - February 1996, Commander, 334th Fighter Squadron and Inspector General, 4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.
17. February 1996 - October 1997, Commander, 48th Operations Group, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England
18. October 1997 - April 1999, executive officer to the Air Force Chief of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
19. April 1999 - May 2001, Commander, 4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.
20. May 2001 - July 2002, Deputy Director for Operations, National Military Command Center, Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
21. July 2002 - May 2004, Deputy Director of Operations and Training, Deputy Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
22. May 2004 - June 2005, Deputy Combined Force Air Component Commander, U.S. Central Command, Deputy Commander Air Force Forces, and Deputy Commander 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force, Air Combat Command, Southwest Asia
23. June 2005 - June 2006, Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Air, Space and Information Operations, Plans and Requirements (A3/5), Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
24. July 2006 - present, Commander, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern), Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.

SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. May 2001 - July 2002, Deputy Director for Operations, National Military Command Center, Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., as a brigadier general
2. May 2004 - June 2005, Deputy Combined Force Air Component Commander, U.S. Central Command, Deputy Commander Air Force Forces, and Deputy Commander 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force, Air Combat Command, Southwest Asia, as a major general 

FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command pilot
Flight hours: More than 4,500
Aircraft flown: RF-4C, F-4D/E, F-14A and F-15A/E

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Bronze Star Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with oak leaf cluster
Aerial Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Navy Achievement Medal
Medalha Mérito Santos-Dumont (Santos-Dumont Medal of Merit, Brazil)
Medalla de la Aeronáutica (Medal of Aeronautics, Paraguay)
Cruz de la Fuerza Aérea al Mérito Aeronáutica (Colombian Air Force Cross, Aeronautical Merit)
Orden del Mérito Aereo en su Primera Categoria, (Order of Aeronautical Merit, First Class, Dominican Republic)
Medalla Al Mérito Mayor General FAP Armando Revoredo Iglesias en el Grado de Gran Cruz (Medal of Merit, Grade of Grand Cross, Peru)
Cruz Al Mérito Aeronáutica en el Grado de Gran Cruz (Cross of Aeronautical Merit, Grade of Grand Cross, Chile) 

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant June 5, 1974
First Lieutenant June 5, 1976
Captain June 5, 1978
Major Oct. 1, 1985
Lieutenant Colonel Aug. 1, 1990
Colonel Aug. 1, 1996
Brigadier General Sept. 1, 2000
Major General Oct. 1, 2004
Lieutenant General July 7, 2006

(Current as of August 2009)