Charles A. Blanchard is the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of the Air Force and chief legal officer and chief ethics official for the Air Force in Washington, D.C. In this role, he provides oversight, guidance and direction for legal advice provided by more than 2,600 Department of the Air Force military and civilian lawyers worldwide.

Prior to this appointment, Mr. Blanchard was a Partner at the Phoenix, Ariz., office of Perkins Coie Brown & Bain, with a practice that focused on complex commercial litigation, antitrust, state constitutional law and election law. In addition to his career at Perkins Coie, Mr. Blanchard's more than 20-year legal career includes many years of public service, including positions as the chief attorney at two federal government agencies.

From 1999 to 2001, he served as General Counsel of the Army, where he acted as the top legal officer to the Department of the Army. From 1997 until 1999, he served as Chief Counsel to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy during the tenure of Barry McCaffrey as Drug Czar. Mr. Blanchard's other government experience includes two terms as a member of the Arizona State Senate; work as an Associate Independent Counsel in the Office of James C. McKay; and law clerk for D.C. Circuit Judge Harry Edwards as well as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. He also served as the Interim Homeland Security Director for Governor Janet Napolitano in 2003.

Mr. Blanchard is a 1985 graduate of Harvard Law School, where he graduated first in his class, and the John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he earned a Master of Public Policy degree. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore., in 1981.

EDUCATION
1981 Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry, with honors, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Ore.
1985 Juris Doctor degree, magna cum laude, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Mass.
1985 Master of Public Policy Degree, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.

CAREER CHRONOLOGY
1. 1985 - 1986, law clerk, Judge Harry T. Edwards, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Washington, D.C.
2. 1986 - 1987, law clerk, Justice Sandra D. O'Connor; U.S. Supreme Court, Washington, D.C.
3. 1987 - 1988, Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel James L. McKay, Washington, D.C.
4. 1988 - 1997, Partner, Perkins Coie Brown & Bain PA, Phoenix, Ariz.
5. 1997 - 1999, Chief Legal Counsel, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Washington, D.C.
6. 1999 - 2001, General Counsel, Department of the Army, Washington, D.C.
7. 2001 - 2009, Partner, Perkins Coie Brown & Bain PA, Phoenix, Ariz. (2003, Interim Homeland Security Director, Office of Governor Janet Napolitano, Phoenix, Ariz.)
8. 2009 - present, General Counsel of the Air Force, Washington, D.C.

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
1981 Rene Ratte Award, awarded to graduate with the most promise
1984 -1985 Articles Editor, Harvard Law Review
1985 Fay Diploma, graduated first in class

(Current as of June 2009)