Gen. Mark D. Kelly
Commander, Air Combat Command, United States Air Force
Gen. Mark D. Kelly is the Commander, Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia. As the commander, he is responsible for organizing, training, equipping and maintaining combat-ready air, space, cyber and intelligence forces for rapid deployment and employment while ensuring strategic air defense forces are ready to meet the challenges of peacetime air sovereignty and wartime defense. The command operates more than 1,000 aircraft, 35 wings, 12 bases, and 1,336 units at more than 242 operating locations worldwide with 156,739 total force military and civilian personnel. As the lead major command for Combat Air Forces, ACC develops strategy, doctrine, concepts, tactics, and procedures for air, space, and cyber-power employment. The command provides conventional and information warfare forces to all unified commands to ensure air, space, cyber, and information superiority for warfighters and national decision-makers. The command also stands ready to assist national agencies with intelligence, surveillance and crisis response capabilities.
Kelly entered the Air Force in 1986, receiving his commission from the Air Force ROTC program at Southwest Texas State University. He earned his pilot wings at Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. Gen. Kelly has commanded a fighter squadron, two fighter wings, an expeditionary wing and two Numbered Air Forces.
Gen. Kelly is a command pilot with more than 6,000 flying hours, including over 800 combat hours in fighter aircraft.
EDUCATION
1986 Bachelor of Arts, Mathematics, Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos
1990 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
1996 U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev.
2001 Master of Military Arts and Sciences, Air Command and Staff College, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2007 Master of Science, National Security Studies, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
2011 Harvard Kennedy School of Executive Education, Leadership Decision Making Seminar
ASSIGNMENTS
1. April 1986–May 1987, Student Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training, Sheppard AFB, Texas
2. June 1987–July 1991, T-37 Instructor Pilot, Executive Officer and Standardization and Evaluation Officer, 80th Flying Training Wing, Sheppard AFB, Texas
3. August 1991–April 1992, Student, F-15E Replacement Training Unit, 461st Fighter Squadron, Luke AFB, Ariz.
4. April 1992–July 1995, F-15E Instructor Pilot and Weapons Officer, 90th Fighter Squadron, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska
5. August 1995–January 1998, F-15E Instructor Pilot and Weapons Officer, 492d Fighter Squadron, RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom
6. February 1998–June 2000, Assistant Director of Operations, 2nd Operational Conversion Unit, Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18 Fighter Weapons School, RAAF Williamtown, New South Wales, Australia
7. July 2000–June 2001, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
8. June 2001–September 2002, Weapons and Tactics Flight Commander, 4th Operations Support Squadron, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.
9. October 2002–March 2004, Director of Operations, 336th Fighter Squadron, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.
10. April 2004–May 2006, Commander, 333rd Fighter Squadron, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.
11. August 2006–June 2007, Student, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
12. July 2007–September 2008, Vice Commander, 366th Fighter Wing, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, with duties as Vice Commander, 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan
13. September 2008–April 2010, Commander, 4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.
14. April 2010–April 2011, Executive Officer, Deputy Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, Camp Smith, Hawaii
15. April 2011–July 2012, Chief of Staff, Pacific Air Forces, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
16. July 2012–June 2014, Commander, 354th Fighter Wing, Eielson AFB, Alaska
17. July 2014–July 2015, Commander, 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan
18. July 2015–May 2016, Commander, Ninth Air Force, Shaw AFB, S.C.
19. June 2016–September 2016, Special Assistant to the Commander, Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.
20. October 2016–August 2018, Commander, Twelfth Air Force, Air Combat Command, and Commander, Air Forces Southern, U.S. Southern Command, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.
21. August 2018–August 2020, Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, Headquarters United States Air Force, Arlington, Va.
22. August 2020–present, Commander, ACC, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. January 2002–March 2002, Master Air Attack Planner, United States Central Command Air Force Combined Air Operations Center, Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, as a major
2. May 2008–August 2008, Vice Commander, 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, Combined Joint Task Force 101, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, as a colonel
3. April 2010–April 2011, Executive Officer, Deputy Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, Camp Smith, Hawaii, as a colonel
4. October 2016–August 2018, Commander, Air Forces Southern, U.S. Southern Command, Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., as a lieutenant general
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: command pilot
Flight hours: more than 6,000
Aircraft flown: T-37, T-38, F-15E, F/A-18, F-16, F-35A, F-15EX
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Defense Superior Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters
Distinguished Flying Cross with “V” device with oak leaf cluster
Bronze Star Medal with oak leaf cluster
Royal Australian Air Force Chief of Staff Gold Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with silver and four bronze oak leaf clusters
Air Force Combat Action Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal
(Current as of February 2023)