Selected for promotion to major general and reassignment as Commander, Air Force Test Center, Air Force Materiel Command, Edwards AFB, California
Brig. Gen. David A. Harris is Commander, 96th Test Wing, Air Force Materiel Command, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. He leads more than 9,800 military, civilian, and contractor personnel, in accomplishing the Test Wing's missions of developmental testing and evaluation of conventional munitions, command and control systems, aircraft avionics and guidance systems, and radar cross section measurement. He is also responsible for providing all base operating support, infrastructure, and services support for the Department of Defense's largest installation (724 square miles). He commands eight groups and 32 squadrons. The Test Wing operates 41 modified test aircraft; manages 120,000 square miles of over-water test ranges, plus facilities in six different states. The 96th TW also supports seven tenant wings and wing equivalent units--to include the 33rd Fighter Wing (F-35 Joint Strike Fighter), the Army's 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Joint Explosive Ordinance Disposal Training Center-- and 37 other associate units including the Army's 6th Ranger Training Battalion and the Air Force's 20th Space Control Squadron. As commander, he interacts with local officials across a three-county, 11-city region with a military economic impact of $2.7 billion annually.
General Harris was commissioned in 1986 after completing Brigham Young University's Air Force ROTC program as a distinguished graduate. He has held various assignments in flying units including Instructor and Evaluator Electronic Warfare Officer in the EF-111A, and experimental flight test weapon systems officer in the B-1B. He has also served as a legislative fellow with the 106th U.S. Congress and in a joint-staff assignment as Chief of Current Operations at U.S. Forces, Japan.
He has served as director of the Global Power Bomber Combined Test Force and commanded the 419th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards AFB, Calif. He is a graduate of Air War College, and has served as deputy director of the Air Force Research Laboratory's Materials and Manufacturing Directorate and as special assistant for Base Realignment and Closure at Headquarters AFMC. General Harris also served as Commander of the 46th Test Group at Holloman AFB, N.M.
Prior to serving as the Vice Commander of the Air Armament Center, General Harris was a wing commander. He is experienced in multiple aircraft weapons systems, is a master combat systems officer with more than 2,000 flying hours, and has combat experience in the EF-111.
EDUCATION
1986 Bachelor of Science degree, mechanical engineering, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
1994 Distinguished graduate, Squadron Officers School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
1995 Distinguished graduate, U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards AFB, Calif.
1998 Master of Science degree, engineering, California State University, Fresno
1999 Government Affairs Institute, Capitol Hill Fellows Program, Georgetown University, Washington D.C.
2001 Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
2005 Master of Strategic Studies degree, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2006 Air Force Enterprise Leadership Seminar, Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C
2008 Center for Creative Leadership Seminar, Gre.ensboro, N.C.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 1987 - July 1988, Student, navigator training, Mather AFB, Calif.
2. October 1988 - May 1989, F-111A Student Weapon Systems officer, 389th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
3. May 1989 - August 1989, EF-111 student electronic warfare officer, 390th Electronic Combat Squadron, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
4. August 1989 - August 1990, EF-111 Electronic Warfare Officer, 390th Electronic Combat Squadron, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
5. August 1990 - March 1991, Electronic Warfare Officer, 390th Electronic Combat Squadron (Provisional), King Fahad Air Base, Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
6. March 1991 - August 1992, EF-111 Instructor Electronic Warfare Officer, 390th Electronic Combat Squadron, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
7. August 1992 - November 1994, EF-111 Instructor, and later, Evaluator Electronic Warfare Officer, 430th and later, 429th Electronic Combat Squadron, Cannon AFB, N.M.
8. January 1995 - December 1996, Student, United States Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards AFB, Calif.
9. December 1996 - May 1998, B-1 Experimental Flight Test Navigator and later, Flight Commander for B-1 and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, 419th Flight Test Squadron, Edwards AFB, Calif.
10. May 1998 - October 1998, Project Manager, RS-68 rocket engine test, 412th Test Wing Access to Space Office, Edwards AFB, Calif.
11. October 1998 - November 1999, Legislative Fellow in the office of Congressman James V. Hansen, Washington D.C.
12. November 1999 - June 2002, Deputy Chief and later Chief of Current Operations, Headquarters U.S. Forces Japan
13. July 2002 - July 2004, Commander, 419th Flight Test Squadron, and Director, Global Power Bomber Combined Test Force, Edwards AFB, Calif.
14. July 2004 - May 2005, Student, Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama
15. June 2005 - January 2006, Deputy Director, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
16. January 2006 - June 2006, Special Assistant for Base Realignment and Closure, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
17. June 2006 - June 2008, Commander, 46th Test Group, Holloman AFB, N.M.
18. June 2008 - June 2010, Wing Commander, data masked
19. June 2010 - July 2012, Vice Commander, Air Armament Center, Eglin AFB, Fla.
20. July 2012 - present, Commander, 96th Test Wing, Eglin AFB, Fla.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
November 1999 - June 2002, Deputy Chief and later Chief of Current Operations, Headquarters U.S. Forces Japan as a major and lieutenant colonel
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: master navigator
Flight hours: more than 2,000
Aircraft flown: EF-111, B-1, F-16, F-15, F-111, B-2, B-52, T-38, AT-38, C-23, C-141 and more than 20 other types
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with six oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant December 15, 1986
First Lieutenant March 25, 1989
Captain March 25, 1991
Major September 1, 1997
Lieutenant Colonel May 1, 2000
Colonel February 1, 2006
Brigadier General August 2, 2011
(Current as of May 2015)