Brig. Gen. Daniel J. Orcutt is the Vice Commander, 1st AF, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, and serves as the Deputy Combined Force Air Component Commander for U.S. Northern Command. He is the principal adviser to the 1st AF Commander and assists in organizing, equipping and operating air defense forces for aerospace warning and control in support of the Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command. As the Deputy CFACC, he ensures operational readiness of assigned, aligned, or gained forces for homeland defense, defense support of civil authorities and theater security cooperation missions for North America.
General Orcutt cross-commissioned in 1991 as a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He has served as an instructor pilot in both KC-10s and F-15Es, in two air operations centers, as a White House fellow and commanded an F-15E squadron, an operations group and two wings. General Orcutt has participated in operations Inherent Resolve, Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa, Enduring Freedom, Noble Eagle, Northern Watch, Southern Watch, Assured Response, Restore Hope, Uphold Democracy and Restore Democracy. He is a command pilot with over 4,400 hours in the F-15E, KC-10 and HH-60, including over 1,100 combat or combat support hours.
Prior to assuming his current assignment, General Orcutt was the Commander, 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, Southwest Asia.
EDUCATION
1991 Distinguished graduate, Bachelor of Science, Political Science, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.
1997 Distinguished graduate, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2002 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
2002 Master of Aeronautical Science, Aerospace Management, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Fla.
2004 Distinguished graduate, Master of Arts, National Security Studies, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif.
2005 Air War College, by correspondence
2005 White House Fellow, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
2010 Distinguished graduate, Master of Science in National Resource Strategy, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Washington, D.C.
2011 Leadership Enhancement Program, Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, N.C.
2014 Enterprise Leadership Seminar, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
ASSIGNMENTS
1. September 1991 – October 1992, top graduate, undergraduate pilot training, Williams AFB, Ariz.
2. November 1992 – August 1995, KC-10 Aircraft Commander, Standards and Evaluation Pilot, 344th Air Refueling Squadron, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.
3. September 1995 – August 1997, KC-10 Instructor Pilot, 6th Air Refueling Squadron, Travis AFB, Calif.
4. November 1997 – July 1998, top pilot graduate, F-15E initial qualification training, 334th Fighter Squadron, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.
5. August 1998 – June 2001, Flight Commander/F-15E Instructor Pilot, 335th Fighter Squadron, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.
6. June 2001 – June 2002, Executive Officer/F-15E Instructor Pilot, 4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.
7. June 2002 – June 2003, Chief of 607th Air Operations Center Standards and Evaluation, Osan Air Base, South Korea
8. July 2003 – July 2004, Student, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif.
9. September 2004 – August 2005, White House Fellow, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
10. November 2005 – April 2006, Assistant Director of Operations, 391st Fighter Squadron, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
11. April 2006 – May 2007, Director of Operations, 391st Fighter Squadron, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
12. June 2007 – March 2009, Commander, 391st Fighter Squadron, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
13. March 2009 – June 2009, Deputy Commander, 366th Operations Group, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
14. July 2009 – June 2010, Student, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, Washington, D.C.
15. July 2010 – June 2012, Commander, 48th Operations Group, RAF Lakenheath, England
16. June 2012 – June 2013, Chief Strategy Division, 609th Combined Air and Space Operations Center, Al Udeid AB, Qatar
17. July 2013 – June 2015, Commander, 505th Command and Control Wing, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
18. June 2015 – June 2016, Commander, 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, Al Dhafra AB, UAE
19. July 2016 - present, Vice Commander, 1st AF, Tyndall AFB, Fla.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 2012 – June 2013 Strategy Division Chief, 609th Combined Air Operations Center, Al Udeid AB, Qatar, as a colonel
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: command pilot
Flight hours: more than 4,500, including over 1,100 hours of combat/combat support
Aircraft flown: F-15E, KC-10, T-38, T-37, and HH-60.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit with three oak leaf clusters
Bronze Star
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Meritorious Unit Award with three oak leaf clusters
AF Outstanding Unit Award with four oak leaf clusters
PUBLICATIONS
Naval Institute Press Award for most Outstanding Thesis in National Security Affairs Department, 2004 "Carrot, Stick, or Sledgehammer: U.S. Policy Options for North Korean Nuclear Weapons"
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
Air Training Command Commander’s Trophy, Undergraduate Pilot Training, 1991
Air Combat Command Daedalian Exceptional Pilot of the Year, 2000
Air Force Association Award for Top U.S. Air Force Graduate from Naval Postgraduate School, 2004
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 29, 1991
First Lieutenant May 29, 1993
Captain May 29, 1995
Major March 1, 2002
Lieutenant Colonel March 1, 2006
Colonel Oct. 1, 2009
Brigadier General Aug. 2, 2015
(Current as of September 2017)