Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Markus Gygax is a former commander of the

Swiss Air Force The Swiss Air Force (german: Schweizer Luftwaffe; french: Forces aériennes suisses; it, Forze aeree svizzere; rm, Aviatica militara svizra) is the air component of the Swiss Armed Forces, established on 31 July 1914 as a part of the army and ...

. His active career within the SAF began in 1971 when he achieved his qualification as a pilot. In 1973 he joined the surveillance wing flying the

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-R ...

, and in 1978 underwent conversion to the F-5 at

Williams AFB Williams Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base, located in Maricopa County, Arizona, east of Chandler, and about southeast of Phoenix. It is a designated Superfund site due to a number of soil and groundwater contamin ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. He was also

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

by the Swiss Air Force's jet display team

Patrouille Suisse The Patrouille Suisse is an aerobatic team of the Swiss Air Force. The team flies six Northrop F-5E Tiger II fighter/bomber jets. History The Patrouille Suisse was founded on August 22, 1964 with four Hawker Hunters. Two displays were also fl ...

when they used the

. Starting with 1985 until 1989 he was the head of the F-5 training school. In 1994 he was appointed interim commander of an aviation regiment and from 1998 through 2002 he commanded the 31st Aviation Brigade. By 2003 he became chief of air force operations and deputy commander of the air force. He took office as overall commander of the Swiss Air Force on 1 March 2009 and gathered more than 4,600 flying hours.''Force Report:Swiss Air Force'',

Air Forces Monthly ''Air Forces Monthly'' is a military aviation magazine published by Key Publishing, and based in Stamford, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. It was established in 1988. It provides news and analysis on military aviation, technology and related topics ...

magazine, September 2009 issue, p. 71. He retired in 2012, his successor was Aldo C. Schellenberg.

Milestones

*1978 -

Williams Air Force Base Williams Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base, located in Maricopa County, Arizona, east of Chandler, and about southeast of Phoenix. It is a designated Superfund site due to a number of soil and groundwater contaminan ...

, F-5E/F Tiger Conversion Courses *1985—1989 - Chief flying instructor on F-5E/F Tiger in Pilot Officers' Schools *1990—1991 - Assigned staff officer to the Chief of Operations of the Swiss Air Force *1991—1992 - Staff College "Ecole Supérieure de Guerre Aérienne",

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

*1994 - Interim Commander of an air force regiment *1994—1997 - Chief of F/A-18 Hornet training conversion unit *1998—2002 - Commander of an Air Force Brigade *2003 - Chief of Operations and Deputy Commander-in-chief of the Swiss Air Force *2004—2008 - Chief Air Force Operations Staff and Deputy Commander of the Air Force *21.06.2008—31.12.2012 - Chief of staff of the Swiss Air Force

Decorations and awards

References

External links

Heads of the Swiss Air Force since 1914
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gygax, Markus 1950 births Living people People from Solothurn Swiss generals Swiss military officers Swiss Air Force personnel