Brig. Gen. Christopher Lay is the Commander of the Force Generation Center, Air Force Reserve Command, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. As Commander, he is responsible for synchronizing the employment and visibility of Reserve combat-ready forces and executes Air Force Reserve Command’s deliberate and crisis force generation processes. He implements all Department of Defense policy and guidance for all matters related to Air Expeditionary Force management, mobilization, campaign and mission planning, personnel and aircraft sourcing, and force visibility.
Brig. Gen. Lay graduated from the United States Air Force Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Military History and a Russian language minor. Following seven years of active-duty service, he entered the Air Force Reserve in 2003 and has performed tactical duties as an Instructor Navigator, Weapons Officer, Flight Safety Officer and deployed Mission Commander for aerial fire-fighting missions. Brig. Gen. Lay is an Outstanding Graduate of the U.S. Air Force’s Weapons Instructor Course and has commanded at the squadron, group and wing level. He last deployed as the Commander, 385th Air Expeditionary Group, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, where he led over 800 Airmen flying and maintaining Air Mobility Command’s forward-deployed C-130H, C-17, KC-135 and KC-10 operations in United States Central Command. Prior to his current assignment, Brig. Gen. Lay was assigned to Headquarters Air Force, the Pentagon, as the Mobilization Assistant to Concepts and Strategy in Air Force Futures. In this role, Brig Gen. Lay was responsible for developing future Air Force strategy by conducting net assessments and strategic and comparative analysis to inform concept, capability and force design.
As a reservist, in the civilian sector Brig. Gen. Lay taught university courses in American History and International Affairs as part of his doctoral candidacy program in U.S. Diplomatic History at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado. Brig. Gen. Lay holds two graduate degrees in history and strategic studies and is a master navigator with more than 3,000 flight hours, including over 300 combat hours.
EDUCATION
1996 Bachelor of Science, History, Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
1997 Distinguished Graduate, Joint Undergraduate Navigator Training, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas
1998 Distinguished Graduate, C-130 Navigator Qualification Training, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
2000 Distinguished Graduate, C-130 Instructor School, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
2001 Flight Safety Officer School, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
2001 Squadron Officer School, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2004 Top third Graduate, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2006 Master of Arts, History, University of Central Arkansas, Conway, Ark.
2006 Air Command and Staff College, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2007 Outstanding Graduate and Academic Award, Weapons Instructor School, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
2013 Air War College, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2015 Master of Arts, Strategic Studies, Carlisle Scholars Program, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pa.
2016 Reserve Component National Security Course, National Defense University, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
2019 Director of Mobility Forces Course, Air Force Expeditionary Operations School, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
2019 Safety and Accident Investigation Board President Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2019 Senior Officer Legal Orientation Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2022 Middle East and South Asia Regional Course, Alan L. Freed Associates, Washington, D.C.
2023 Senior Leader Orientation Training, Andrews AFB, Md.
2024 NATO Senior Officer Policy Course, Oberammergau, Germany
2025 Leading Data and Artificial Intelligence Informed Organizations, John’s Hopkins School of Applied Physics, Md.
2025–present, Ph.D. candidate, Diplomatic History, University of Colorado, Boulder
ASSIGNMENTS
1. August 1996–December 1997, Student, Joint Undergraduate Navigator Training, Pensacola Naval Air Station, Fla., and Randolph Air Force Base, Texas
2. December 1997–May 1998, Student, C-130 Navigator, Qualification Training, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
3. May 1998–June 2001, Wing Tactics Officer and Unit Deployment Monitor, 43rd Operations Support Squadron and 2nd Airlift Squadron, Pope AFB, N.C.
4. June 2001–May 2003, C-130E Instructor Navigator, Class Commander and Squadron Flight Safety Officer, 62nd AS, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
5. May 2003–June 2012, Weapons Officer, Flight Commander, and Mission Commander, 731st Airlift Squadron and 302nd Operations Support Squadron, Peterson AFB, Colo.
6. June 2012–June 2014, Commander, 302nd OSS, Peterson AFB, Colo.
7. June 2014–June 2015, Student, Carlisle Scholar Program, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pa.
8. June 2015–June 2017, Director, Headquarters Air Force, Executive Secretariat, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
9. June 2017–July 2019, Commander, 913th Airlift Group, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
10. July 2019–December 2019, Commander, 385th Air Expeditionary Group, Al Udeid AB, Qatar
11. January 2020–September 2022, Commander, 934th Airlift Wing, Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport Air Reserve Station, Minn.
12. September 2022–August 2025, Mobilization Assistant to Concepts and Strategy, Air Force Futures Headquarters Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
13. August 2025–present, Commander, Force Generation Center, Air Force Reserve Command, Robins AFB, Ga.
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: master navigator
Flight Hours: more than 3,000, including over 300 combat hours
Aircraft Flown: C-130E, C-130H2 and C-130H3
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters
Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with oak leaf cluster
Aerial Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air and Space Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air and Space Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
1995 Research Internship, Marine Corps Historical Center, Washington, D.C.
2000 Instructor Navigator of the Year, 21st Air Force
2002 Language-Area Submersion and Immersion program, Saint Petersburg, Russia
2017-2020 U.S. representative, Defense and Security Issues Committee, Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers (CIOR), NATO
PUBLICATIONS
Co-author, From Cooperation to Competition - The Future of U.S.-Russian Relations, Carlisle Barracks, Pa.: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, May 2015
Co-author, Project 1704: A U.S. Army War College Analysis of Russian Strategy in Eastern Europe, an Appropriate U.S. Response, and the Implications for U.S. Landpower, Carlisle Barracks, Pa.: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, March 2015
(Current as of September 2025)