Maj. Gen. Steven Behmer is the Deputy Commander, Ninth Air Force, Air Forces Central Command, Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. As the Deputy Commander at Shaw AFB, Maj. Gen. Behmer oversees the execution of contingency plans across a 21-nation area of responsibility and manages headquarters posturing in garrison to ensure operational readiness.
Maj. Gen. Behmer entered the Air Force in 1998 after receiving his commission from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He is a command pilot with more than 3,100 flying hours, primarily in the A-10 and F-35, including over 110 combat sorties in Operation Enduring Freedom. He has flown as an evaluator, instructor, weapons officer and operational test pilot in the A-10A, A-10C and F-35A. He has served as an Operations Officer, a deployed A-10 Squadron Commander, and as the Commandant of the U.S. Air Force Weapons School. Maj. Gen. Behmer was also a National Security Affairs Fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University. Prior to his current assignment, Maj. Gen. Behmer was Deputy Commanding General, Security Assistance Group-Ukraine.
EDUCATION
1998 Bachelor of Science in Operations Research, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2005 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
2005 U.S. Air Force Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev.
2009 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2009 Master of Aeronautical Science, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Fla.
2011 Master of Military Operational Art and Science, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2012 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2016 National Security Affairs Fellow, Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, Stanford University, Calif.
2019 Strategic Leadership Program, Center for Creative Leadership, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2021 Enterprise Leadership Seminar, Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
2022 Enterprise Perspective Seminar, Alan L. Freed Associates, The Capitol Hill Club, Washington, D.C.
2023 Capstone General and Flag Officer Course, National Defense University, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. September 1998–May 2000, Student, Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training, Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas
2. May 2000–November 2000, Student, A-10 Flying Training, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.
3. November 2000–November 2001, A-10 Squadron Pilot and Battalion Air Liaison Officer, 25th Fighter Squadron, Osan Air Base, South Korea
4. November 2001–October 2004, A-10 Instructor and Evaluator Pilot, 355th Fighter Squadron, Eielson AFB, Alaska
5. October 2004–June 2007, A-10 Instructor Pilot and Squadron Weapons and Tactics Officer, 354th Fighter Squadron and 358th Fighter Squadron, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.
6. June 2007–June 2010, A-10 Weapons School Instructor Pilot, Operational Test Pilot and Operations Officer, 66th Weapons Squadron, U.S. Air Force Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev.
7. June 2010–June 2011, Student, U.S. Air Force Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
8. June 2011–May 2013, Forward Air Controller Capabilities Section Chief, Headq uarters Allied Air Command, NATO, Ramstein AB, Germany
9. March 2013–May 2015, Commander, 354th Fighter Squadron, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. (February 2015–May 2015, Commander, 354th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, Campia Turzii, Romania)
10. June 2015–June 2016, National Security Affairs Fellow, Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, Stanford University, Calif.
11. June 2016–June 2017, Executive Officer to the Commander, Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va.
12. June 2017–June 2019, Commandant, United States Air Force Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev.
13. June 2019–June 2021, Commander, 388th Fighter Wing, Hill AFB, Utah
14. July 2021–June 2023, Director, F-35 Integration Office, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
15. June 2023–March 2024, Deputy Commander, Fifteenth Air Force, Shaw AFB, S.C.
16. March 2024–March 2025, Deputy Commanding General, Security Assistance Group-Ukraine, Lucius D Clay Kaserne, Wiesbaden, Germany
17. March 2025–present, Deputy Commander Shaw, Ninth Air Force, U.S. Air Forces Central, Shaw AFB, S.C.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 2011–May 2013, Forward Air Controller Capabilities Section Chief, HQ Allied Air Command, NATO, Ramstein AB, Germany, as a lieutenant colonel
2. March 2024–March 2025, Deputy Commanding General, Security Assistance Group-Ukraine, Lucius D Clay Kaserne, Wiesbaden, Germany, as a major general
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: command pilot
Flight hours: more than 3,100
Aircraft flown: T-3, T-37, T-38, AT-38, O/A-10A, A-10A, A-10C and F-35A
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air and Space Commendation Medal
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Air and Space Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Army Achievement Medal
Air Force Combat Action Medal
(Current as of June 2025)