Brig. Gen. Trent H. Edwards is Director, Budget Operations and Personnel, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management and Comptroller, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. General Edwards is responsible for planning and directing execution of the Air Force's operation and maintenance, as well as military personnel budgets totaling more than $68.4 billion for baseline funding and $11.2 billion for overseas contingency operations annually. He leads a staff of 57 military and civilian budget professionals, who develop, integrate and justify readiness and personnel budgets for the Air Force, and defend Air Force budget requirements as they are addressed by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Office of Management and Budget and Congress. Once appropriations are enacted, he is responsible for overseeing execution of the financial resources necessary to operate 79 Air Force installations worldwide and pay 325,100 active Air Force personnel.
General Edwards entered the Air Force in 1990 after graduating from North Carolina A&T State University. He has commanded two comptroller squadrons, a mission support group, an air base wing and a training wing. He served in key Air Force and Secretary of Defense staff positions such as Aide de Camp to the Commander Air Education and Training Command and Senior Military Assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense Comptroller.
He has extensive congressional experience and was assigned to the Secretary of the Air Force Office of Legislative Liaison, as the Chief of Congressional Affairs and served as a National Defense Fellow to a member of Congress. He is a joint qualified officer.
General Edwards has experience in combat and counterinsurgency operations, including deployments to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as the Chief of Staff for the Office of the Administrative Review of Enemy Combatants; Balad, Iraq, as the CJ8 for the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force and Kabul, Afghanistan, as the CJ8, NATO Training Mission/Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan.
EDUCATION
1989 Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, North Carolina A&T State University
1994 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
1995 Financial Management Staff Officer's Course, Sheppard AFB, Texas
1996 Master's degree in Human Relations, University of Oklahoma
2002 Air Command and Staff College, by seminar
2002 Certificate of Legislative Studies, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
2002 National Defense Fellow, Washington, D.C.
2006 Air War College, by correspondence
2008 Master's Degree in National Security Studies, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2008 Program for Senior Executives in National Security, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
2010 Leadership Development Program, Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, N.C.
2011 Air Force Forces Senior Officer Course, Air Force Expeditionary Warfare Center, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.
2012 Enterprise Leadership Seminar, Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
2014 Allan L. Freed Associates Capitol Hill Workshop, Washington, D.C.
2016 Senior Leader Orientation Course, JB Andrews, Md.
2016 Capstone General and Flag Officer Course, National Defense University, Washington, D.C.
2018 Continuous Process Improvement for Executives, The Institute for Defense and Business, Washington, D.C.
2018 Next Jump Leadership Academy, Manhattan, N.Y.
2018 Senior Acquisition Management Course (ACQ 404), Defense Acquisition University, Ft Belvoir, Va.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 1990 - June 1993, Deputy Accounting/Finance Officer, 401st Comptroller Squadron, Aviano, Italy
2. June 1993 - July 1994, Chief Financial Services, 8th Comptroller Squadron, Kunsan AB, South Korea
3. July 1994 - July 1995, Deputy Commander, Regional Accounting/Finance Office, Osan AB, South Korea
4. July 1995 - August 1996, 7th Air Force Budget Officer, 51st Fighter Wing, Osan AB, South Korea
5. August 1996 - August 1998, Chief, Financial Analysis, 18th Comptroller Squadron, Kadena AB, Japan.
6. August 1998 - October 1998, Chief, Budget Integration Branch, Comptroller Directorate, Headquarters Air Education and Training Command, Randolph AFB, Texas
7. October 1998 - July 2000, Aide to Commander, Headquarters AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas
8. July 2000 - October 2001, Chief, Congressional Affairs, Legislative Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
9. October 2001 - October 2002, Legislative Fellow to Congressman J.C. Watts Jr., Washington, D.C.
10. October 2002 - January 2003, Subject Matter Expert to the Financial Management Transformation Office, Financial Management/Comptroller, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
11. February 2003 - June 2005, Commander, 92d Comptroller Squadron, Fairchild AFB, Wash.
12. July 2005 - June 2007, Commander, 88th Comptroller Squadron, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
13. July 2007 - May 2008, Student, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
14. June 2008 - May 2009, Senior Military Assistant, Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), Washington, D.C.
15. May 2009 - May 2010, Director, Programs and Comptroller, CJ8, NATO Training Mission and Combined Security Transition Command, Kabul, Afghanistan.
16. August 2010 - June 2012, Commander, 28th Mission Support Group, Ellsworth AFB, S.D.
17. June 2012 - May 2014, Commander, 42nd Air Base Wing, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
18. June 2014 - May 2016, Commander, 37th Training Wing, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas
19. June 2016 – Dec 2017, Director, Programming, Financial Management and Comptroller, Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colo.
20. Jan 2018 – Present, Director, Budget Operations and Personnel, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management and Comptroller, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. May 2004 - August 2004, Chief of Staff, Office of the Administrative Review of Enemy Combatants, Office of the Secretary of Defense as a lieutenant colonel
2 February 2006 - July 2006, CJ8 Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, Combined Forces Special Operations Component Command as a lieutenant colonel
3. May 2008 - May 2009, Senior Military Assistant, Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) as a colonel
4. May 2009 - May 2010, Director Programs and Comptroller, CJ8, NATO Training Mission/Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan as a colonel
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Bronze Star Medal with oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Achievement Medal
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with four oak leaf clusters
Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with oak leaf cluster
National Defense Service Medal with bronze star
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Armed Forces Services Medal
NATO Medal
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
2003 Air Mobility Command Financial Analysis Office of the Year
2004 Air Mobility Command Comptroller of the Year
2004 Air Force Comptroller of the Year
2005 American Society of Military Comptrollers Meritorious Performance Award (Comptroller)
2007 Air Force Materiel Command Comptroller of the Year
2010 American Society of Military Comptrollers Distinguished Performance Award (Comptroller)
2010 Office of Secretary of Defense Comptroller Outstanding Innovation in a Combat Zone
2013 Air Education and Training Command General and Mrs. Jerome F. O'Malley Award
2017 HQ Air Force Space Command Verne Orr Award (organization)
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant Dec. 30, 1989
First Lieutenant Dec. 30, 1991
Captain Dec. 30, 1993
Major March 1, 2001
Lieutenant Colonel April 1, 2004
Colonel Oct. 1, 2008
Brigadier General May 22, 2015
(Current as of August 2018)