Rank Insignia Previous Honoree ID Next Honoree ID


   
honoree image
First Name: Norton

Last Name: Schwartz

Birthplace: Toms River, NJ, USA

Gender: Male

Branch: Air Force (1947 - present)



Middle Name: Allan



Date of Birth: 14 December 1951



Rank: General

Years Served: 1973-2012
Norton Allan Schwartz

   
Graduate, U.S. Air Force Academy, Class of 1973

Engagements:
•  Gulf War (1990 - 1991)

Biography:

Norton Allan Schwartz

General, U.S. Air Force

Norton Allan Schwartz was born on 14 December 1951 in Toms River, NJ, the son of a typewriter salesman. Schwartz was a member of the U.S. Air Force Academy Jewish choir before his 1973 graduation.

He is an alumnus of the National War College, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a 1994 Fellow of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Seminar XXI. He has served as Commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command-Pacific, as well as Alaskan Command, Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region and the 11th Air Force.

He participated as a crewmember in the 1975 airlift evacuation of Saigon, and in 1991 served as Chief of Staff of the Joint Special Operations Task Force for Northern Iraq in operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. In 1997, he led the Joint Task Force that prepared for the noncombatant evacuation of U.S. citizens in Cambodia.

On 1 October 2005, Schwartz was promoted to the four-star rank of General and assigned as Commander, U.S. Transportation Command, at Scott AFB, IL. In August 2008, he was selected as Chief of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, in Washington, DC, and served in that position until his retirement in August 2012.

General Schwartz was the first Jewish Chief of Staff of the Air Force; he was also the first Air Force Chief of Staff not to have a background as a fighter or bomber pilot. It is speculated that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates picked him for that reason.

General Schwartz is a Command Pilot with over 4,400 flying hours in the following aircraft: C-130E/H, MC-130E/H/P, HC-130, AC-130H/U, YMC-130, MH-53 and MH-60.

Education

1973 Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and International Affairs, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO

1977 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, AL

1983 Master of Business Administration degree, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant

1984 Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, VA

1989 National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, DC

1994 Fellow, Seminar XXI, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

Assignments

August 1973 - September 1974, student, undergraduate pilot training, Laughlin AFB, TX.

October 1974 - January 1975, student, C-130 initial qualification training, Little Rock AFB, AR.

February 1975 - October 1977, C-130E Aircraft Commander, 776th and 21st Tactical Airlift Squadrons, Clark Air Base, Philippines.

October 1977 - December 1977, student, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, AL.

December 1977 - October 1979, C-130E/H flight examiner, 61st Tactical Airlift Squadron, Little Rock AFB, AR.

October 1979 - November 1980, intern, Air Staff Training Program, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans, Operations and Readiness, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington.

November 1980 - July 1983, MC-130E flight examiner, 8th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, FL.

July 1983 - January 1984, student, Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, VA.

January 1984 - April 1986, Action Officer, Directorate of Plans, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington.

May 1986 - June 1988, Commander, 36th Tactical Airlift Squadron, McChord AFB, WA.

August 1988 - June 1989, student, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington.

uly 1989 - July 1991, Director of Plans and Policy, Special Operations Command Europe, Patch Barracks, Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany.

August 1991 - May 1993, Deputy Commander for Operations and Commander, 1st Special Operations Group, Hurlburt Field, FL.

May 1993 - May 1995, Deputy Director of Operations, later, Deputy Director of Forces, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington.

June 1995 - May 1997, Commander, 16th Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, FL.

June 1997 - October 1998, Commander, Special Operations Command, Pacific, Camp H.M. Smith, HI.

October 1998 - January 2000, Director of Strategic Planning, Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington.

January 2000 - September 2000, Deputy Commander in Chief, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill AFB, FL.

September 2000 - October 2002, Commander, Alaskan Command, Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region and 11th Air Force, Elmendorf AFB, AK.

October 2002 - October 2004, Director for Operations, the Joint Staff, Washington.

October 2004 - August 2005, Director, the Joint Staff, Washington.

September 2005 - September 2008, Commander, U.S. Transportation Command, Scott AFB, IL.

August 2008-present, Chief of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington.

Promotion Dates

Second Lieutenant, 6 June 1973

First Lieutenant, 6 June 1975

Captain, 6 June 1977

Major, 1 November 1982

Lieutenant Colonel, 1 March 1985

Colonel, 1 February 1991

Brigadier General, 1 January 1996

Major General, 4 March 1999

Lieutenant General, 18 January 2000

General, 1 October 2005

Medals and Wards

Defense Distinguished Service Medal (3 Awards)

Air Force Distinguished Service Medal

Defense Superior Service Medal (2 Awards)

Legion of Merit (3 Awards)

Defense Meritorious Service Medal

Meritorious Service Medal (3 Awards)

Air Force Commendation Medal (2 Awards)

Army Commendation Medal

Air Force Achievement Medal

Joint Meritorious Unit Award (9 Awards)

Outstanding Unit Award with Combat Valor Device (5 Awards)

Organizational Excellence Award

Combat Readiness Medal (3 Awards)

National Defense Service Medal with 2 Bronze Campaign Stars

Southwest Asia Service Medal with 2 Bronze Campaign Stars

Global War on Terrorism Service Medal

Humanitarian Service Medal with 3 Bronze Service Stars

Air Force Overseas Short Tour Service Ribbon

Air Force Overseas Long Tour Service Ribbon (2 Awards)

Air Force Longevity Service Award (8 Awards)

Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon

Air Force Training Ribbon

Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)

Badges

Command Pilot Badge
Parachutist Badge
Joint Chiefs of Staff Badge

Honors

In 2004 General Schwartz was awarded the Jewish Community Center's Military Leadership Award. In accepting the award, General Schwartz said he was "proud to be identified as a Jewish as well as an American military leader."



Honoree ID: 833   Created by: MHOH

Ribbons


Medals


Badges


Honoree Photos

honoree imagehonoree imagehonoree image

honoree imagehonoree image

honoree image

Remembrances


Tributes