MAJOR GENERAL CHARLES W. LYON Maj. Gen Charles W. Lyon is the Director of Operations, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia. He is responsible to the Commander, Air Combat Command, on all matters pertaining to the direct operational planning, training, command and controlling functions to deploy and employ regular and Reserve component combat air forces, including more than 1,900 aircraft, in support of U.S. security objectives. General Lyon entered the Air Force in 1981 as a distinguished graduate of The Citadel's ROTC program in Charleston, S.C. He has served in a variety of key staff assignments including duty on the Joint Staff as special assistant to the Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff and Deputy Director, Air Force Programs; and most recently as the Director for Joint Integration, Directorate of Operational Capability Requirements, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans and Requirements. As a junior officer, he served as an F-16 weapons instructor pilot, flight commander, aide-de-camp to the Commander, Allied Air Forces Southern Europe (NATO), and requirements action officer on the Air Combat Command staff. He has commanded a fighter squadron, operations group, fighter wing and an air expeditionary wing in Southwest Asia that conducted air and space missions in operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. The general is a command pilot with more than 3,800 flying hours, including more than 1,100 combat hours in Iraq, Afghanistan and Serbia flying the B-1, F-16C, KC-135R, RC-135, E-8C and RQ-1 unmanned aircraft system. EDUCATION 1980 Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics, The Citadel, Charleston, S.C. 1984 Squadron Officer School, by correspondence 1986 U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons Instructor Course, Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. 1989 Master's degree in public administration, Golden Gate University, Calif. 1995 Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan. 2000 Master of Science degree in national security strategy, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. 2002 Seminar XXI, Foreign Political and International Relations, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 2006 National Security Leadership Course, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, N.Y. 2008 Joint Force Air Component Commander Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 2009 Combined/Joint Force Land Component Commander Course, Carlisle Barracks, Pa. 2010 Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala. ASSIGNMENTS 1. February 1981 - February 1982, student, undergraduate pilot training, Columbus AFB, Miss. 2. February 1982 - April 1982, student, fighter lead-in training, 435th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Holloman AFB, N.M. 3. April 1982 - December 1982, student, F-16A Replacement Training Unit, 63rd Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, MacDill AFB, Fla. 4. December 1982 - October 1985, F-16A fighter pilot and Chief of Scheduling, 17th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Shaw AFB, S.C. 5. October 1985 - August 1987, F-16A instructor pilot, wing executive officer and weapons officer, 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, Kunsan Air Base, South Korea 6. August 1987 - November 1990, F-16A/C/CG pilot, 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron; Advanced Tactical Fighter (YF-22/YF-23) Program Manager, 57th Fighter Weapons Wing, Nellis AFB, Nev. 7. November 1990 - May 1993, F-16C instructor pilot, 526th Fighter Squadron; flight commander and Director of Operations, 86th Operations Support Squadron, Ramstein AB, Germany 8. May 1993 - May 1994, aide-de-camp to the Commander, Allied Air Forces Southern Europe (NATO), and Commander, 16th Air Force, U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Naples, Italy 9. May 1994 - June 1995, student, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan. 10. June 1995 - June 1997, Chief, F-22 Operations Branch, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va. 11. June 1997 - July 1999, operations officer, later, Commander, 22nd Fighter Squadron, Spangdahlem AB, Germany 12. August 1999 - June 2000, student, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. 13. June 2000 - June 2001, Chief, Studies, Analysis and Gaming Division (J8), Force Structure, Resources and Assessment Directorate, Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. 14. June 2001 - April 2002, special assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. 15. April 2002 - June 2003, Commander, 57th Operations Group, Nellis AFB, Nev. 16. July 2003 - May 2005, Commander, 388th Fighter Wing, Hill AFB, Utah 17. May 2005 - June 2007, Deputy Director of Programs, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. 18. June 2007 - July 2008, Commander, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Southwest Asia 19. July 2008 - May 2010, Director for Joint Integration, Directorate of Operational Capability Requirements, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans and Requirements, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. 20. June 2010 - July 2011, Deputy Commander-Air, U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, and Commander, 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force-Afghanistan 21. July 2011 - present, Director of Operations, Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS 1. May 1993 - May 1994, aide-de-camp to the Commander, Allied Air Forces Southern Europe (NATO), Naples, Italy, as a major 2. June 2000 - June 2001, Chief, Studies, Analysis and Gaming Division (J8), Force Structure, Resources and Assessment Directorate, Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., as a colonel 3. June 2001 - April 2002, special assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., as a colonel 4. June 2010 - July 2011, Deputy Commander-Air, U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, and Commander, 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force-Afghanistan, as a major general FLIGHT INFORMATION Rating: Command pilot Flight hours: More than 3,800 Aircraft flown: B-1B, F-16A/C, KC-135, RC-135, E-8C, C-21, HH-60, RQ-1, T-37 and T-38 MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS Distinguished Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster Distinguished Flying Cross with "V" device Bronze Star Medal with oak leaf cluster Defense Meritorious Service Medal Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters Air Medal with silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION Second Lieutenant Nov. 17, 1980 First Lieutenant Nov. 17, 1982 Captain Nov. 17, 1984 Major Feb. 1, 1993 Lieutenant Colonel Jan. 1, 1997 Colonel April 1, 2001 Brigadier General Nov. 23, 2006 Major General July 3, 2010 (Current as of March 2013)