Brig. Gen. Gregor J. Leist serves as Special Assistant to the Director of the Air National Guard for Air Force Training and Readiness. He is responsible for policy, guidance and oversight of combat readiness for more than 638,000 total force Airmen. The general also leads the Air Force Physiological Episodes Action Team, which collaborates with joint partners to enhance human performance in military aviation.
Brig. Gen. Leist received his commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corps upon graduation from the University of Portland. While on active duty, he served as an Acquisition Officer and Air Battle Manager supporting operations Southern Watch, Provide Comfort, Northern Watch, Desert Fox and counterdrug operations. He transitioned to the Air Force Reserve as an Air Reserve Technician and later joined the Air National Guard where he has commanded at the squadron, group, vice wing and air defense sector level while supporting operations Joint Forge and Joint Guardian, Noble Eagle, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. He is a Master Air Battle Manager with more than 3,100 flying hours in the E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System and has held qualifications in the air operations center, control and reporting center and air defense sector weapon systems as well as air traffic control ratings in tower and radar approach control facilities.
Prior to assuming his current assignment, Brig. Gen. Leist was Director of the North American Aerospace Defense Command Combined Forces Air Component Commander Working Group responsible for advising the NORAD Commander, Deputy and Joint Directorates on the organization and operation of air defense forces for Canada and the United States.
EDUCATION
1987 Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering, University of Portland, Ore.
1991 Master of Science, International Relations, Troy State University, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
1995 Squadron Officer School, Distinguished Graduate, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2000 Master of Business Administration, University of Oklahoma, Norman
2004 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell, AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2005 Air National Guard Intermediate Leaders Course, McGee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tenn.
2007 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2008 Air National Guard Commander Development Course, Andrews AFB, Md.
2009 Master of Science in National Resource Strategy, National Defense University, Fort Leslie J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
2015 Dual Status Commander Course, North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, Peterson AFB, Colo.
2015 Joint Task Force Commander Course, NORAD and USNORTHCOM, Peterson AFB, Colo.
2016 National Security Management Course, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.
2017 National Security Studies Program, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
2018 Leadership Decision Making, Harvard University, Boston
ASSIGNMENTS
1. October 1988‒September 1990, Chief, Cost and Schedule Analysis, Air Force Armament Laboratory, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
2. October 1990‒July 1991, Test Manager, Sensor Fused Weapon Program Office, Eglin AFB, Fla.
3. August 1991‒September 1992, Air Battle Manager Student, 3625th Training Squadron, Tyndall AFB, Fla.
4. October 1992‒March 1994, Air Battle Manager, 964th Airborne Air Control Squadron, Tinker AFB, Okla.
5. April 1994‒October 1995, Senior Director, 964th Airborne Air Control Squadron, Tinker AFB, Okla.
6. November 1995‒May 1996, Instructor Senior Director/Deputy Flight Commander, 964th Airborne Air Control Squadron, Tinker AFB, Okla.
7. June 1996‒April 1997, Flight Commander/Evaluator Senior Director, 964th Airborne Air Control Squadron, Tinker AFB, Okla.
8. April 1997‒November 1997, Wing Evaluator Senior Director, 552d Air Control Wing, Tinker AFB, Okla.
9. December 1997‒May 2001, Deputy Chief, Group Standardization and Evaluation, 513th Air Control Group, Tinker AFB, Okla.
10. June 2001‒May 2004, Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies, Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Detachment 695, University of Portland, Ore.
11. May 2004‒February 2008, Commander, 270th Air Traffic Control Squadron, Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base, Klamath Falls, Ore. (July 2006 - September 2006, Director of Operations, Baghdad International Airport, Baghdad)
12. February 2008‒September 2011, Commander, 116th Air Control Squadron, Camp Rilea, Warrenton, Ore. (January 2011 - July 2011, Director of Operations, 71st Expeditionary Air Control Squadron, Southwest Asia)
13. September 2011‒September 2013, Commander, 173d Mission Support Group, Kingsley Field, Ore. (January 2013 - August 2013, Director, Joint Air Traffic Management, Headquarters International Security Assistance Force, Kabul, Afghanistan)
14. September 2013‒April 2015, Vice Commander, 173d Fighter Wing, Kingsley Field ANGB, Klamath Falls, Ore.
15. April 2015‒May 2018, Commander, Western Air Defense Sector, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
16. June 2018‒August 2019, Director, North American Aerospace Defense Combined Force Air Component Commander Working Group, headquarters NORAD, Peterson AFB, Colo.
17. September 2019‒present, Assistant to the Director of the Air National Guard for Headquarters Air Force Operations and Training, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. January 2013‒August 2013, Director, Joint Air Traffic Management, Headquarters, International Security Assistance Forces, Kabul, Afghanistan, as a colonel
2. June 2018‒August 2019, Director, North American Aerospace Defense Combined Forces Air Component Commander Working Group, headquarters NORAD, Peterson AFB, Colorado, as a colonel
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: master air battle manager
Flight hours: 3,192 hours
Aircraft Flown: E-3 B/C
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal with silver oak leaf cluster
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Army Commendation Medal
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Army Achievement Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 17, 1988
First Lieutenant May 17, 1990
Captain May 17, 1992
Major July 14, 1999
Lieutenant Colonel Nov. 01, 2004
Colonel Jan. 11, 2012
Brigadier General Sept. 7, 2019
(Current as of October 2019)