General JEFFREY L. HARRIGIAN

Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian retired as the Commander, U.S. Air Forces in Europe; Commander, U.S. Air Forces Africa; Commander, Allied Air Command, headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany; and Director, Joint Air Power Competence Centre, Kalkar, Germany. He was responsible for the air and missile defense of 30 NATO alliance member nations while commanding U.S. airpower across more than 19 million square miles. This area includes 104 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, the Arctic, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, possesses more than a quarter of the world’s population and generates more than a quarter of the world’s gross domestic product.

Gen. Harrigian was commissioned in 1985 as a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He has served in a variety of flying and staff assignments, including Deputy Director for Strategy, Plans and Assessments, U.S. Forces-Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and as Chief of the Joint Exercise Division at NATO's Joint Warfare Center, Stavanger, Norway. He has flown combat missions in support of operations Just Cause, Desert Storm and Inherent Resolve. He also served as the Commander, U.S. Air Forces Central Command, Combined Force Air Component Commander U.S. Central Command, Southwest Asia. Prior to his current assignment, Gen. Harrigian was the Deputy Commander, U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, Ramstein AB, Germany.

Gen. Harrigian is a command pilot with more than 4,100 hours in the F-22, F-15C, A/OA-37 and MQ-1 aircraft.

EDUCATION
1985 Bachelor of Political Science, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
1993 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., by correspondence
1995 U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons Instructor Course, Nellis AFB, Nev.
1996 Master of Aeronautical Science, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Fla.
1999 Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
2002 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2005 Air Force Fellow, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
2008 Enterprise Leadership Seminar, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
2008 Phase II, Joint Professional Military Education, Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
2011 Joint Force Air Component Commander Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2012 Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2015 Combined/Joint Force Special Operations Component Commanders Course, MacDill AFB, Fla.
2017 Pinnacle Course, National Defense University, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
2018 Leadership at the Peak, Arosa, Switzerland

ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 1985–August 1986, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Williams Air Force Base, Ariz.
2. April 1987–January 1990, A/OA-37 Air Liaison Officer, Forward Air Controller Instructor Pilot, and Standardization and Evaluation Pilot, 24th Tactical Air Support Squadron, Howard AFB, Panama
3. March 1990–September 1990, Student, F-15 Replacement Training, 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Luke AFB, Ariz.
4. September 1990–June 1992, Squadron Life Support Officer, Chief, Squadron Scheduling, 8th TFS, Holloman AFB, N.M.
5. July 1992–June 1995, Chief, Squadron Scheduling, 1st TFS, and Academic Instructor, Multi-stage Improvement Program, 325th Training Squadron, Tyndall AFB, Fla.
6. July 1995–December 1995, Student, U.S. Air Force Weapons Instructor Course, Nellis AFB, Nev.
7. January 1996–June 1998, Chief, Weapons and Tactic, 58th Fighter Squadron, and Chief, Wing, Weapons, 33rd Operational Support Squadron, Eglin AFB, Fla.
8. June 1998–June 1999, Student, Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
9. June 1999–August 1999, Student, F-15 Requalification Training, Tyndall AFB, Fla.
10. August 1999–January 2000, Instructor Pilot, F-15 Division; and Chief, Advanced Programs, Director of Tactics, U.S. Air Force Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev.
11. January 2000–May 2001, Operations Officer, F-15 Division, U.S. Air Force Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev.
12. May 2001–October 2002, Operations Officer, 95th FS, Tyndall AFB, Fla.
13. October 2002–December 2004, Commander, 43rd FS, Tyndall AFB, Fla.
14. December 2004–August 2005, Air Force Fellow, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
15. August 2005–June 2007, Chief, Joint Exercise Division, NATO's Joint Warfare Center, Stavanger, Norway
16. June 2007–January 2008, Vice Commander, 1st Fighter Wing, Langley AFB, Va.
17. January 2008–June 2010, Commander, 49th FW, Holloman AFB, N.M.
18. July 2010–July 2011, Deputy Director for Strategy, Plans and Assessment (J5), U.S. Forces-Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq
19. August 2011–January 2013, Assistant Deputy Commander, U.S. Air Forces Central Command, and Assistant Vice Commander, 9th Air Expeditionary Task Force, Shaw AFB, S.C.
20. February 2013–July 2014, Deputy Director, Operations (J3), U.S. Central Command, MacDill AFB, Fla.
21. August 2014–April 2015, Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
22. April 2015–July 2016, Director, F-35 Integration Office, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
23. July 2016–August 2018, Commander, AFCENT, Combined Force Air Component Commander, CENTCOM, Southwest Asia
24. September 2018–April 2019, Deputy Commander, U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, Ramstein AB, Germany
25. May 2019–July 2022, Commander, USAFE; Commander, AFAFRICA; Commander, Allied Air Command, headquartered at Ramstein AB, Germany; and Director, Joint Air Power Competency Centre, Kalkar, Germany

SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. August 2005–June 2007, Chief, Joint Exercise Division, NATO's Joint Warfare Center, Stavanger, Norway, as a colonel
2. July 2010–July 2011, Deputy Director for Strategy, Plans and Assessments (J5), U.S. Forces-Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq, as a brigadier general
3. February 2013–July 2014, Deputy Director, Operations (J3), U.S. Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., as a brigadier general and major general
4. July 2016–August 2018, Commander, U.S. Air Forces Central Command, Combined Force Air Component Commander, CENTCOM, Southwest Asia, as a lieutenant general

FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating:  command pilot
Flight hours:  more than 4,100
Aircraft flown:  F-22, F-15C, A/OA-37 and MQ-1

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Bronze Star Medal
Purple Heart
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Medal
Aerial Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters
NATO Medal
French Medaille De La Defense Nationale
Qatar Military Gallantry Decoration of the First Degree
Spanish Grand Cross of Aeronautical Merit
Polish Army Gold Medal

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
1986 Distinguished Graduate, Undergraduate Pilot Training
1989 A/OA-37 Instructor Pilot of the Year, Tactical Air Command
1995 Outstanding Graduate, U.S. Air Force Weapons School
1996 Air Force Anthony C. Shine Award
1997 Safety Award of Distinction, Air Combat Command
1998 Ten Outstanding Young Americans Award, ACC
1998 Instructor Pilot of the Year, 33rd Fighter Wing

PUBLICATIONS
"Fighting the Fulcrum," Fighter Weapons Review and AFTTP 3-1, Vol. 4.

(Current as of June 2022)