Caption: Major General Eric W. Crabtree

U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Eric W. Crabtree is the Commander of the United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) Standing Joint Force Headquarters for Elimination of Weapons of Mass Destruction (SJFHQ-E) and the Deputy Director of the USSTRATCOM Center for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction (SCC-WMD),  co-located with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) on Fort Belvoir, Va.

The SJFHQ-E assists in DoD’s critical mission to counter the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction by providing a full time, scalable, flexible, and deployable joint WMD elimination headquarters in support of Geographic Combatant Commands. The SJFHQ-E can quickly integrate into strategic-to-operational level HQs to provide WMD elimination expertise in planning, intelligence, and operations.

The mission of the SCC-WMD is to integrate and synchronize the Department’s efforts to combat worldwide WMD in support of U.S. government objectives.  The Center advises combatant commands on WMD-related matters, provides critical planning expertise and develops recommendations to reduce vulnerabilities and improve Department of Defense effectiveness in combating WMD.

General Crabtree is a command pilot with nearly 5,000 hours. He has held several key operational leadership positions. Prior to his assignment to the SCC-WMD and SJFHQ-E, he was the Commander of 4th Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, March Air Reserve Base (ARB), Calif.

His active duty assignments include: F-4 weapons systems officer, Replacement Training Unit, Luke Air Force Base (AFB), Ariz.; weapons systems officer, 33rd Tactical Fighter Wing, Eglin AFB, Fla.; weapons systems officer, 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, Kunsan Air Base, South Korea; C-130 initial qualification, Little Rock AFB, Ark.; 7th Airborne Command and Control Squadron, Keesler AFB, Miss.; training manager, Headquarters Tactical Air Command, Langley AFB, Va.; tactics officer and Chief of Standardization and Evaluation, 934th Airlift Group, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Air Reserve Station, Minn.; tactics officer, Headquarters 4th Air Force, McClellan AFB, Calif.; operations and training officer, 95th Airlift Squadron, General Mitchell IAP ARS, Wis.; Vice Commander, 440th Operations Group, General Mitchell International Airport, Air Reserve Station, Wis.; Commander, 440th Operations Group, General Mitchell IAP ARS, Wis.; Commander, 910th Operations Group, Youngstown ARS, Ohio.; Commander of the Air Reserve Personnel Center, Denver, Colo.; Operations Group Commander and Reserve adviser, Air Mobility Command Commander, Denver, Colo..; Wing Commander, 446th Airlift Wing, McChord AFB, Wash. 

General Crabtree was commissioned through Officer Training School and he completed undergraduate navigator training in 1975 and began flying as an F-4 weapon systems officer. In 1978, he attended undergraduate pilot training and graduated from Reese AFB, Texas, as a distinguished graduate. In 1989, he joined the Air Force Reserve as an Air Reserve Technician. He also completed National Security Managers Course, Syracuse University, N.Y. He is a graduate of Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College along with Air War College, all located in Maxwell AFB, Ala. 

His civilian education includes a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y. and a Master of Arts degree in Management, Webster University, St. Louis, Mo.

General Crabtree’s awards and decorations include the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal; Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters; Meritorious Service Medal with silver oak leaf cluster; Aerial Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster; Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters; Combat Readiness Medal with four oak leaf clusters; Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Armed Forces Service Medal and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with "M" device and gold hourglass.

May 2012