Department of the United States Air Force LogoBiography
                  United States Air ForceLt.Gen.Kwast
            Lieutenant General STEVEN L. KWASTLt. Gen. Steven L. Kwast is the Commander, Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. He is responsible for the recruiting, training and education of Air Force personnel. His command includes Air Force Recruiting Service, two numbered air forces and Air University. The command operates more than 1,400 trainer, fighter and mobility aircraft, 23 wings, 10 bases and five geographically separated groups. It trains more than 293,000 students per year with approximately 60,000 active-duty, Reserve, Guard, civilian and contractor personnel. General Kwast was commissioned upon graduation from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1986. After completing a master's degree in public policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, he was assigned to undergraduate pilot training where he earned his pilot wings in June 1989. General Kwast has served as military aide to the vice president and completed a National Defense Fellowship with the Institute for the Study of Conflict, Ideology and Policy at Boston University, Massachusetts. 
The general has commanded at the squadron, group and wing levels, including the 47th Operations Group at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, and the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina. He also served as the deputy director for Colonel Matters, Air Force Senior Leader Management Office, Washington, D.C., and as the commander, 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. General Kwast was the deputy director for Politico-Military Affairs for Europe, NATO and Russia, Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate, Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. Prior to his current assignment, General Kwast was the Commanderand President, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. He has more than 3,300 flying hours,including more than 650 combat hours during operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Southern Watch, Allied Force and Enduring Freedom.**EDUCATION**
1986 Bachelor's degree in astronautical engineering, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. 
1988 Master's degree in public policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge Mass. 
1993 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 
1994 Fighter Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev. 
1997 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 
1999 Air War College, by correspondence 
2003 National Defense Fellowship, Boston University, Mass. 
2006 Seminar XXI, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
2008 Air Force Enterprise Leadership Seminar, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill **ASSIGNMENTS**
1. August 1986 - June 1988, student, Air Force Institute of Technology, John F.Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. 
2. June 1988 - June 1989, student, undergraduate pilot training, Williams AFB, Ariz. 
3. June 1989 - May 1990, student, F-15E Fighter Training Unit, Luke AFB, Ariz. 
4. May 1990 - August 1996, war plans officer, weapons officer, and Chief of Weapons, 336th Fighter Squadron, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C. 
5. August 1996 - June 1997, student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 
6. June 1997 - August 1999, military aide to the Vice President of the United States, the White House, Washington D.C. 
7. August 1999 - June 2002, assistant operations officer, Director of Operations, and Commander, 492nd Fighter Squadron, RAF Lakenheath, England 
8. June 2002 - June 2003, National Defense Fellow, Institute for the Study of Conflict, Ideology, and Policy, Boston University, Mass. 
9. September 2003 - February 2005, Commander, 47th Operations Group, Laughlin AFB, Texas 
10. February 2005 - September 2006, Deputy Director for Colonel Matters, Air Force Senior Leader Management Office, Washington, D.C. 
11. September 2006 - September 2008, Commander, 4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C. 
12. September 2008 - April 2009, Deputy Director of Requirements, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va. 
13. April 2009 - April 2010, Commander, 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan 
14. June 2010 - March 2012, Deputy Director for Politico-Military Affairs for Europe, NATO and Russia, Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate, Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
15. March 2012 - January 2013, Director of Requirements, Air Combat Command, JB Langley-Eustis, Va. 
16. January 2013 – January 2014, Director, Air Force Quadrennial Defense Review, Office of the Air Force Assistant Vice Chief of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. 
17. February 2014 – November 2014, Commander, Curtis E. LeMay Center for Doctrine Development and Education and Vice Commander, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala.18. November 2014 – November 2017, Commander and President, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala.19. November 2017 – present,Commander, Air Education and Training Command, JB San Antonio-Randolph, Texas

**SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS**
1. June 1997 - August 1999, military aide to the Vice President of the United States, the White House, Washington, D.C., as a major 
2. April 2009 - April 2010, Commander, 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, as a brigadier general 
3. June 2010 - March 2012, Deputy Director for Politico-Military Affairs for Europe, NATO and Russia, Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate, Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., as a brigadier general **FLIGHT INFORMATION**
Rating:  command pilot 
Flight hours:  more than 3,300, including over 650 combat hours 
Aircraft: flown:  F-15E, T-6, T-37 and T-38 **MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS**
Defense Superior Service Medal 
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster 
Distinguished Flying Cross 
Bronze Star Medal 
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters 
Air Medal with two silver oak leaf clusters 
Aerial Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters 
Air Force Achievement Medal **OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS**
1989 Commander's Trophy, Air Training Command 
1994 Outstanding Graduate, USAF Fighter Weapons School 
1995 Robbie Risner Award **EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION**
Second Lieutenant May 28, 1986 
First Lieutenant May 28, 1988 
Captain May 28, 1990 
Major Aug. 1, 1996 
Lieutenant Colonel July 1, 1999 
Colonel Aug. 1, 2003 
Brigadier General July 31, 2009 
Major General May 4, 2012 
Lieutenant General Nov. 10, 2014
(Current as of September 2019)Department of the Air Force Logo