Brig. Gen. Balan R. Ayyar is the Commanding General, Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435, Kabul, Afghanistan.
General Ayyar was commissioned in 1987 as a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He has served in a variety of joint, command and staff positions at the major command, combatant command and Office of the Secretary of Defense level. The general is a White House Fellow and served in the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. His command experience includes the 4th Airlift Squadron, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., and 305th Air Mobility Wing, JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. He has held joint assignments as military assistant to the Secretary of Defense, executive assistant to the Commander of U.S. Pacific Command as well as the U.S. Transportation Command liaison to the Commander, U.S. Central Command, and Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, overseeing the strategic transportation and sustainment of forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Prior to his current assignment, he was Commander, Air Force Recruiting Service, Headquarters Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. General Ayyar is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
General Ayyar is a command pilot with more than 3,500 flying hours in the T-37, T-38, C-141B, Kiran Mk IA, KC-135R, C-17A and KC-10A.
EDUCATION
1987 Bachelor of Science degree, International Affairs, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
1992 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
1999 Master of Strategic Science, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
1999 Master of Public Administration, Auburn University, Montgomery, Ala.
2002 White House Fellow, The White House, Washington D.C.
2003 Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies Senior Executive Course on South Asia, National Defense University, Washington, D.C.
2004 Air War College, Air University, non-residence course
2004 Master of Science in Industrial Resource Management, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, Washington, D.C.
2008 Senior Executive Fellows, Harvard University, Boston, Mass.
2011 U.S. Foreign Policy and Security Challenges on Africa, Alan L. Freed Associates
2012 U.S. - South Asia Leader Engagement Program, Harvard University, Boston, Mass.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. September 1987 - September 1988, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Columbus AFB, Miss.
2. September 1988 - August 1992, Assistant Flight Commander, military training officer, T-37 instructor pilot, Air Training Command, Columbus AFB, Miss.
3. August 1992 - December 1995, Flight Commander, C-141B instructor aircraft commander, 8th Airlift Squadron, McChord AFB, Wash.
4. December 1995 - August 1998, Kiran Mk IA Instructor Pilot with Indian Air Force, Pacific Air Forces Personnel Exchange Program, Hyderabad, India
5. August 1998 - August 1999, Student, Air Command Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
6. August 1999 - July 2001, Operations Officer, C-141B evaluator pilot, 4th Airlift Squadron, McChord AFB, Wash.
7. July 2001 - August 2002, Commander, 4th Airlift Squadron, McChord AFB, Wash.
8. September 2002 - September 2003, White House fellow, The White House, Washington, D.C.
9. September 2003 - June 2004, Student, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, Ft. McNair, Va.
10. June 2004 - July 2006, U.S. Transportation Command Senior Liaison to Commander, U.S. Central Command and Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill AFB, Fla.
11. July 2006 - October 2007, Vice Commander, 319th Air Refueling Wing, Grand Forks AFB, N.D.
12. October 2007 - March 2009, Commander, 305th Air Mobility Wing, and installation commander, McGuire AFB, N.J.
13. March 2009 - August 2009, Executive Assistant to the Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, Camp Smith, Hawaii
14. August 2009 - September 2010, Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C.
15. September 2010 - October 2012, Commander, Air Force Recruiting Service, Headquarters Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas
16. October 2012 - July 2013, Deputy Commanding General, Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435, Kabul, Afghanistan
17. July 2013 - present, Commanding General, Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435, Kabul, Afghanistan
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 2004 - July 2006, U.S. Transportation Command Senior Liaison to the Commander, U.S. Central
Command and Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill AFB, Fla. and Forward Headquarters, as a lieutenant colonel and colonel
2. March 2009 - August 2009, Executive Assistant to the Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, Camp Smith, Hawaii, as a colonel
3. August 2009 - September 2010, Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C., as a colonel
4. October 2012 - present, Deputy and then Commanding General, Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435, Kabul, Afghanistan
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight Hours: More than 3,500
Aircraft Flown: T-37, T-38, C-141B, Kiran Mk IA, KC-135R, C-17A, KC-10A
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Bronze Star Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal
Presidential Service Badge
(Current as of March 2014)