Steven L. Kwast

Major General Steven L. Kwast was commissioned into the United States Air Force upon graduation from the Air Force Academy in 1986. Once he completed a Masters of Public Policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, he was assigned to undergraduate pilot training and earned his pilot wings in June 1989. Kwast completed F-15E training at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona and later was assigned to the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson AFB where he served as a war plans officer, weapons officer and Chief of Weapons.

Kwast is a veteran of operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Southern Watch and Enduring Freedom. Recently, Kwast was in command of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. He was succeeded by Colonel Jack L. Briggs II.

Dates of Promotion
Kwast was nominated for appointment to the rank of Major General by the President on May 3, 2011. He was promoted to Major General May 4, 2012. On July 31, 2009 Kwast was promoted to the grade of Brigadier General at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.

Education

 * 1986 Bachelor's degree in astronautical engineering, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
 * 1988 Master's degree in public policy, Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Mass.
 * 1993 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
 * 1994 Fighter Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev.
 * 1997 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
 * 1999 Air War College, by correspondence
 * 2003 National Defense Fellowship, Boston University, Mass.
 * 2006 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Seminar XXI
 * 2008 Air Force Enterprise Leadership Seminar, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Assignments

 * 1) August 1986 - June 1988, AFIT student, Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, 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, 4th Fighter Wing, 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, Washington D.C.
 * 7) August 1999 - June 2002, Assistant Operations Officer, Director of Operations, and Commander, 492d Fighter Squadron, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, United Kingdom
 * 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 Air Force Base, 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 – present, Deputy Director for Politico-Military Affairs for Europe, NATO and Russia, Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate, Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
 * 15) March 2012 – present, Director of Requirements, Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.