 |
| Information > Biographies > LIEUTENANT GENERAL JAMES M. KOWALSKI |
|
LIEUTENANT GENERAL JAMES M. KOWALSKI
|
|
|
|
| Bio Tools |
|
|
|
|
Lt. Gen. James M. Kowalski is Commander, Air Force Global Strike Command, Barksdale Air Force Base, La. He is responsible for organizing, training, equipping and maintaining all U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile and nuclear-capable bomber forces. The command's mission is to develop and provide combat-ready forces for nuclear deterrence and global strike operations to support the President of the United States and combatant commanders. The command comprises more than 23,000 professionals operating at various locations around the globe. The command's six wings control the nation's entire inventory of Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, B-2 and B-52 bomber aircraft.
General Kowalski entered active duty in 1980 through the ROTC program at the University of Cincinnati. He has held a variety of operational commands, including a bomb squadron, an operations group, a bomb wing and an air control wing.
His contingency and wartime experience include command of the 2nd Operations Group when they deployed B-52s for combat during operations Noble Anvil and Allied Force, and command of the 28th Bomb Wing when they deployed B-1Bs for Operation Iraqi Freedom. From January 2003 to May 2003, General Kowalski commanded the 405th Air Expeditionary Wing in Southwest Asia where he led a combined wing of B-1Bs, E-3s and KC-135s to provide strike, battle management, and air refueling for operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and Southern Watch. His previous staff assignments include Headquarters Air Combat Command, Headquarters U.S. Air Force and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Prior to his current assignment, he served as Vice Commander, Air Force Global Strike Command.
EDUCATION
1979 Bachelor of Business Administration degree, University of Cincinnati, Ohio
1984 Distinguished graduate, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
1985 Master's degree in management, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant
1993 Distinguished graduate, Master's degree in national security and strategic studies, College of Naval Command and Staff, Naval War College, Newport, R.I.
1997 Secretary of Defense Fellows Program with duty at McDonnell Douglas Aerospace, St. Louis, Mo.
2002 Joint Aerospace Operations Senior Staff Course, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
2004 Senior Leader Course, Center for Creative Leadership, San Diego, Calif.
2006 Combined Force Air Component Commander Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2008 Leadership Seminar, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C
2008 Seminar XXI, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
2010 Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. April 1980 - April 1981, student, undergraduate pilot training, Laughlin AFB, Texas
2. May 1981 - October 1982, B-52D pilot, 2nd Bombardment Squadron, March AFB, Calif.
3. November 1982 - September 1986, aircraft commander, instructor pilot and wing tactics officer, 524th Bombardment Squadron, Wurtsmith AFB, Mich.
4. October 1986 - October 1987, Air Staff Training Program, the Pentagon, Washington D.C.
5. October 1987 - November 1989, B-1B instructor pilot and Chief of Standardization and Evaluation, 384th Bombardment Wing, McConnell AFB, Kan.
6. November 1989 - August 1992, B-1B instructor pilot and Chief of Wing Standardization and Evaluation, 96th Bomb Wing, Dyess AFB, Texas
7. August 1992 - June 1993, student, College of Naval Command and Staff, Naval War College, Newport, R.I.
8. June 1993 - July 1994, Chief, Long-Range Attack Planning and Programming, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
9. July 1994 - August 1996, Commander, 28th Bomb Squadron, Dyess AFB, Texas
10. August 1996 - June 1997, Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellow, McDonnell-Douglas Aerospace, St. Louis, Mo.
11. June 1997 - April 1999, Chief, Forces Assignment Branch, Directorate of Force Structure (J8), Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
12. May 1999 - December 2000, Commander, 2nd Operations Group, Barksdale AFB, La.
13. December 2000 - April 2002, Assistant Director of Aerospace Operations, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va.
14. April 2002 - February 2004, Commander, 28th Bomb Wing, Ellsworth AFB, S.D. (January 2003 - May 2003, Commander, 405th Air Expeditionary Wing, Southwest Asia)
15. July 2004 - October 2005, Deputy Director, Operational Plans and Joint Matters, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
16. November 2005 - May 2007, Commander, 552nd Air Control Wing, Tinker AFB, Okla.
17. June 2007 - January 2009, Deputy Director for Global Operations (J39), Operations Directorate, Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
18. January 2009 - August 2009, Commander, Air Force Global Strike Command (Provisional), Bolling AFB, Washington, D.C.
19. August 2009 - January 2011, Vice Commander, Air Force Global Strike Command, Barksdale, AFB, La.
20. January 2011 - present, Commander, Air Force Global Strike Command, Barksdale AFB, La.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 1997 - April 1999, Chief, Forces Assignment Branch, Directorate of Force Structure (J8), Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., as a lieutenant colonel
2. June 2007 - January 2009, Deputy Director for Global Operations (J39), Operations Directorate, Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., as a brigadier general
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command pilot
Flight hours: More than 4,500, including 127 combat hours
Aircraft flown: E-3, B-1B, B-52D/G/H, T-38 and T-37
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit with three oak leaf clusters
Bronze Star Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Medal
Aerial Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Achievement Medal
Combat Readiness Medal with oak leaf cluster
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant June 9, 1979
First Lieutenant March 14, 1981
Captain March 14, 1983
Major Jan. 1, 1990
Lieutenant Colonel March 1, 1994
Colonel May 1, 1999
Brigadier General Nov. 1, 2005
Major General May 7, 2009
Lieutenant General Jan. 6, 2011
(Current as of January 2011)
|
|
|
|
|
Printable bio
