Norton Allan Schwartz (born December 14, 1951) is a retired

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

who served as the 19th Chief of Staff of the Air Force from August 12, 2008, until his retirement in 2012. He previously served as commander,

United States Transportation Command The United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) is one of eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense. The command is located at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, and was established in 1987. The USTRANSCO ...

from September 2005 to August 2008. He is currently the president and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the

Institute for Defense Analyses The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) is an American non-profit corporation that administers three federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) – the Systems and Analyses Center (SAC), the Science and Technology Policy Institute ...

, serving since January 2, 2020.

Background

Schwartz grew up in

Toms River, New Jersey Toms River is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. Its mainland portion is also a census-designated place of the same name, which serves as the county seat of Ocean County.National Journal, Decision Makers.
Son of Simon Schwartz who owned and operated Charney's office supply store in Toms River, NJ. Simon Schwartz held many local, national, and international leadership positions within the Jewish Community. access-date=October 7, 2010 The first

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Schwartz was a member of the U.S. Air Force Academy Jewish choir before his 1973 graduation. In 2004, Schwartz was awarded the Jewish Community Center's Military Leadership Award. In accepting the award, Schwartz said he was "proud to be identified as Jewish as well as an American military leader."

Military career

Schwartz graduated from the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...

in 1973. He is an alumnus of the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Colle ...

, a member of the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

, and a 1994 Fellow of the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

's Seminar XXI. He has served as commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command Pacific, as well as

Alaskan Command The Alaskan Command (ALCOM) is a joint subordinate unified command of the United States Northern Command, responsible for operations in and around the State of Alaska. Alaskan Command is charged with maintaining air sovereignty, deploying force ...

, Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region and the

11th Air Force The Eleventh Air Force (11 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska.This unit is not related to the Eleventh Air Force headquart ...

. Schwartz is a USAF Command Pilot with more than 4,400 flying hours in a variety of aircraft. He has flown

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...

and MC-130 Combat Talon I and Combat Talon II aircraft and MH-53 Pave Low III and Pave Low IV, and MH-60 Black Hawk and Pave Hawk special ops helicopters. His operational background goes back to the final days of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

; at the time, he was a crew member taking part in the 1975 airlift evacuation of Saigon."Schwartz a Chief to Mend Fences"
''Defense Tech'', June 13, 2008. Retrieved November 3, 2010. By 1991 he was chief of staff of the Joint Special Operations Task Force for Northern Iraq during the first Gulf War. He participated as a crew member 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 The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

and

Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. In 1997, he led the Joint Task Force that prepared for the noncombatant evacuation of U.S. citizens in Cambodia. On January 12, 2000, Schwartz was promoted to lieutenant general and received his third-star upon assuming the command of

and

Eleventh Air Force The Eleventh Air Force (11 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska.This unit is not related to the Eleventh Air Force headquarte ...

September 11 Attacks

During the

September 11, 2001 Attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

General Schwartz at that time was the commander of Alaskan Command, a joint subordinate unified command of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) which oversee the state of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

. At that time of the attacks all of air-traffics above The United States Airspace was grounded and most of the flight are diverted to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

as part of the

Operation Yellow Ribbon Operation Yellow Ribbon (french: Opération ruban jaune) was commenced by Canada to handle the diversion of civilian airline flights in response to the September 11 attacks in 2001 on the United States. Canada's goal was to ensure that potential ...

in response of the attacks. However one aircraft, a Korean Air Boeing 747-400 Flight 85 which en route to

Anchorage International Airport Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is a major airport in the U.S. state of Alaska, located southwest of downtown Anchorage. The airport is named for Ted Stevens, a U.S. senator from Alaska in office from 1968 to 2009. It is included ...

for stopover with final destination to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Ne ...

, suddenly reported being hijacked and transmitting the international hijack transponder code. Lieutenant General Schwartz who was in-charge of Alaskan Command at that time ordered to scrambled two F-15s aircraft in-order to intercept the Korean Air Flight 85 and order the F-15 pilot to then established direct radio contact with the Korean Air Flight 85 pilot. Schwartz then contact the commander in charge of the

Canadian NORAD region North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...

, Lieutenant General

Angus Watt Lieutenant-General William Angus Watt, CMM, CD is a Canadian retired air force general who was Chief of the Air Staff from 2007 to 2009. He formerly served as the president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Air Transport Security Aut ...

and discuss the possibility of diverting the Korean Air 747 into Whitehorse, Canada since the 747 was running low on fuel and headed into U.S. Territory. Schwartz also guaranteed that the Korean Air 747 will be escorted by U.S. Air Force fighter aircraft all the way until the plane touchdown. Upon receiving approval from the Canadian authority, Watts then allowed the Korean Air Boeing 747 to land on

Whitehorse International Airport Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport is an Port of entry#Airport of entry, airport of entry located in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. It is part of the National Airports System (Canada), National Airports System, and is owned and operated b ...

in condition that the plane have to be escorted by the

until its land on Whitehorse International Airport. Immediately after landing on Whitehorse International Airport, the Korean Air Flight 85 Boeing 747 was surrounded by The

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

and the crew was interrogated by the Canadian authority. It was later confirmed that in-fact, it was not a hijacking, but rather a mistaken signal which was transmitted by the Korean Air Flight 85 pilot. Many praise Schwartz decision in-coordinating with the Canadian Authority in-order to divert the Korean Air Flight 85 into Whitehorse, Canada which eventually saving the lives of 215 passengers on board the Korean Air Flight 85. At that time during the September 11 Attacks all the Air Force Fighter Aircraft which was scrambled and patrolled around the United States Airspace was given the order to shoot down all aircraft that was suspected being hijacked and had the potential to be used to attack several important locations within the United States, knowing that it was hijacked distress signal that was sent by the Korean Air Flight 85 pilot. Defense

Director of the Joint Staff

In October 2002 following the assignment within the Alaskan Command, Lieutenant General Schwartz was promoted into Joint Staff J-3 director for operations which assists the Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff about the current United States Armed Forces operations and plans. In this capacity Schwartz was the senior officer of the Operation Directorate and providing guidance for the Unified Combatant Commanders for every U.S. military operation around the world. In October 2004, following two years assignment as J-3 Operations Directorate, Schwartz was appointed by

Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...

General

Richard B. Myers Richard Bowman Myers (born March 1, 1942) is a retired four-star general in the United States Air Force who served as the 15th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As chairman, Myers was the highest ranking uniformed officer of the United Stat ...

to be the Director of the Joint Staff (DJS). In this position Schwartz became the three-star officers which assists the Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff in managing the Joint Staff and headed all of the Joint Staff Directorate.

Commander of the United States Transportation Command

General Norton Schwartz assuming the command of The United States Transportation Command

Schwartz was appointed to be The commander of the United States Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) in 2005. Schwartz also received his fourth-star and was promoted into four-star General. As commander of The Transportation Command, General Schwartz oversees the mobilization of all of the service branches and defense agencies transportation and mobility support. General Schwartz also organized the entire Department of Defense transportation network. During his tenured as TRANSCOM Commander General Schwartz also coordinated with commercial airline in cooperation for providing military airlift. Schwartz also held a routine meetings with the Airline CEO in-order to discuss about the Airline company cooperation with the military and the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

. As a result, many cargo and chartered airline companies help provided so many airlift for military personnel and logistical supports during the Iraq War and War in Afghanistan. Schwartz also emphasize about the importance of the movement of injured warfighters from the battlefield to medical treatment facilities in-order for them to get immediate and quickly medical treatment. Especially knowing that this was a complex process in which it required close collaboration with doctors, hospitals and evacuation crews. One of General Schwartz major accomplishment as commander of The Transportation Command was the successfully of The United States Transportation Command to transported over 9,900 patients from the United States Central Command area of responsibility which was the key-element area during the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...

and

War on Terrorism The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant I ...

and over 16,000 patients globally to a medical treatment facilities. In 2008 following three years of his tenure as Commander of The United States Transportation Command, General Schwartz was actually set to retired from active-duty. However following the nuclear weapons incident in 2007 which resulted in the relieved of Air Force Chief of Staff General T. Michael Moseley, Schwartz was elevated into the position of The United States Air Force Chief of Staff and named his successor.

Air Force Chief of Staff

In June 2008, after General

T. Michael Moseley Teed Michael "Buzz" Moseley (born September 3, 1949) is a retired United States Air Force general who served as the 18th Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. He is a fighter pilot with more than 3,000 flight hours in fighters and trainer ...

was relieved from his position as Air Force Chief of Staff,

Secretary of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

Robert Gates Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was originally appointed by president George W. Bush an ...

nominated General Schwartz to be the next Air Force Chief of Staff. General Schwartz is the first Air Force Chief of Staff with a background as an airlift and special operations aircraft pilot. It is speculated that

selected him because he did not have a background as a fighter or bomber pilot. As chief of staff, General Schwartz served as the senior uniformed Air Force officer responsible for the organization, training and equipping of nearly 700,000 active-duty Air Force,

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a MAJCOM, major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of ...

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

and civilian forces serving in the United States and overseas. As a member of the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

, General Schwartz functioned as a military adviser to the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

and the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

. During his tenure as Air Force Chief of Staff, General Schwartz reaffirmed the importance of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), which he believed could be the future of the Air Force. At that time dozens of UAVs were being used in the

war on terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international Counterterrorism, counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campa ...

, especially in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. General Schwartz also estimated that in the future, 85 percent of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles would have a huge role within the Air Force and its operations. In 2011 almost 350 UAV pilots were trained and prepared by the Air Force.

Air-Sea Battle Doctrine

Together with

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

Admiral

Gary Roughead Gary Roughead ( "rough head"; born July 15, 1951) is a former United States Navy officer who served as the 29th Chief of Naval Operations from September 29, 2007 to September 22, 2011. He previously served as Commander, United States Fleet Forces ...

, General Schwartz developed a new battle doctrine in 2010, The Air-Sea Battle Doctrine. The Air-Sea Battle Doctrine was an Air Force and Navy integrated battle doctrine which formed a key component military strategy. The Air-Sea Battle Doctrine was developed to deal with the unique challenges of the Western-Pacific arena. It created an institutional partnership and cooperation between the

and the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. Both General Schwartz and Admiral Roughead saw the need and importance of joint Air Force and Navy cooperation within the Indo-Pacific region that ultimately lead to the initiation of Air-Sea Battle Doctrine, especially in wartime situations within the Indo-Pacific region. Defense

One of the primary goals of Air-Sea Battle Doctrine was interoperability of air and naval forces that could execute networked and integrated in-depth attacks in order to disrupt, destroy and ultimately cripple or defeat the enemy's anti-access/area denial capabilities to sustain and protect the operations area within the Indo-Pacific Region. General Schwartz also emphasized the importance of the air-sea operating space for non-combat operations such as disaster relief. General Schwartz argued that to ensure the success of this doctrine, improved training, tactics and communications technologies between the Air Force, Navy and Marines, would be needed to allow them to work together better, during both wartime and non-combatant operations. The concept to create a joint Air Force and Navy battle strategy began in the 1990s, when both the Air Force and Navy had institutionalized a joint air operations which eventually led the two services to began exchanging air crews, tacticians and intelligence officers in a joint service partnership following the Gulf War. It created a new cooperative environment that balanced the differences in naval (carrier-based) and Air Force (land-based) air operations, strengthened command and staff relationships, integrated air asset strike operations, and pooled common air resources. In February 2010 the Air-Sea Battle Doctrine became official and in 2015 The Air-Sea Battle doctrine was renamed to Joint Concept for Access and Maneuver in the Global Commons (JAM-GC). Defense

In August 2012, General Schwartz retired after serving four years as Air Force Chief of Staff; he had served a total of 39 years with the Air Force. General Schwartz was succeeded by General Mark A. Welsh who previously served as commander of United States Air Forces in Europe and Africa.

Civilian career

After his retirement from the Air Force, he wrote a memoir entitled ''Journey: Memoirs of an Air Force Chief of Staff'' with Susie Schwartz and Ronald Levinson.Schwartz, Norton A., Suzie Schwartz, and Ronald Levinson. ''Journey: Memoirs of an Air Force Chief of Staff''. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2018. In 2013, Schwartz became a member of the board of trustees of the

. In July 2019, Schwartz was selected to become IDA's president and CEO, effective January 2, 2020.

Education

:1973 Bachelor of Science degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and

international affairs International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

, Colorado Springs, Colorado :1977

Squadron Officer School Squadron Officer School (SOS), is a 5.5-week-long Professional Military Education (PME) course for U.S. Air Force and Space Force Captains, Department of the Air Force Civilian (DAFC) equivalents and International Officers. It fulfills the U.S ...

Maxwell AFB, Alabama Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. O ...

:1983

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

degree,

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

, Mount Pleasant, Michigan :1984 Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia :1989

Fort Lesley J. McNair Fort Lesley J. McNair is a United States Army post located on the tip of Greenleaf Point, the peninsula that lies at the confluence of the Potomac River and the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. To the peninsula's west is the Washington Cha ...

, Washington, D.C. :1994 Fellow, Seminar XXI,

, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Assignments

General Norton Schwartz portrait painting for USAF by Michele Rushworth

#August 1973 – September 1974, student, undergraduate pilot training,

Laughlin AFB, Texas Laughlin Air Force Base is a facility of the United States Air Force located east of Del Rio, Texas. Overview Laughlin AFB, the largest pilot training base in the US Air Force, is home to the 47th Flying Training Wing of the Air Education and ...

#October 1974 – January 1975, student,

C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desig ...

initial qualification training, Little Rock AFB, Arkansas #February 1975 – October 1977, C-130E aircraft commander, 776th and 21st Tactical Airlift Squadrons,

Clark Air Base Clark Air Base is a Philippine Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located west of Angeles City, about northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was previously a United States military facility, operated by the U.S. Air Forc ...

, Philippines #October 1977 – December 1977, student, Squadron Officer School,

Maxwell AFB Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. O ...

, Alabama #December 1977 – October 1979, C-130E/H flight examiner,

61st Tactical Airlift Squadron The 61st Airlift squadron is a United States Air Force unit, part of the 19th Airlift Wing Air Mobility Command at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. It operates Lockheed C-130J Hercules aircraft for airlift and airdrop operations. Histor ...

, Little Rock AFB, Arkansas #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, D.C. #November 1980 – July 1983,

MC-130 The Lockheed MC-130 is the basic designation for a family of special mission aircraft operated by the United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), a wing of the Air Education and Training Command, and an AFSOC-gained wing of the ...

E flight examiner,

8th Special Operations Squadron The 8th Special Operations Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 1st Special Operations Wing, Air Force Special Operations Command, stationed at Hurlburt Field, Florida. The squadron is equipped with the Be ...

, Hurlburt Field, Florida #July 1983 – January 1984, student, Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia #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, D.C. #May 1986 – June 1988, commander,

36th Tactical Airlift Squadron The 36th Airlift Squadron is an airlift squadron of the United States Air Force. It is part of the 374th Operations Group (374th Airlift Wing) at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is the only forward-based tactical airlift squadron in the United Stat ...

McChord AFB, Washington McChord Field is a United States Air Force base in the northwest United States, in Pierce County, Washington. South of Tacoma, McChord Field is the home of the 62d Airlift Wing, Air Mobility Command, the field's primary mission being world ...

#August 1988 – June 1989, student,

, Washington, D.C. #July 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 First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

, Hurlburt Field, Florida #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, D.C. #June 1995 – May 1997, commander,

16th Special Operations Wing HV-016 is a former military unit of Norway, that was a part of the Home Guard. It was established after 1985 to "stop terror- or sabotage actions that could weaken or paralyze Norway's ability to mobilize its military and its ability to resist". ...

, Hurlburt Field, Florida #June 1997 – October 1998, commander,

Special Operations Command, Pacific The Special Operations Command Pacific, known as SOCPAC, is a sub-unified command of the United States Department of Defense for special operations forces in the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) area of responsibility. History T ...

, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii #October 1998 – January 2000, director of strategic planning, deputy chief of staff for plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. #January 2000 – September 2000, deputy commander in chief,

U.S. Special Operations Command The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Arm ...

MacDill AFB, Florida MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...

#September 2000 – October 2002, commander, Alaskan Command, Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region and

Elmendorf AFB, Alaska Elmendorf Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) facility in Anchorage, Alaska. Originally known as Elmendorf Field, it became Elmendorf Air Force Base after World War II. It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Air Command (AL ...

. #October 2002 – October 2004, director for operations, the Joint Staff,

Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simpl ...

, Washington, D.C. #October 2004 – August 2005, Director, the Joint Staff,

, Washington, D. C. #September 2005 – August 2008, commander, U.S. Transportation Command, Scott AFB, Illinois #August 2008 – August 2012, chief of staff, Headquarters, U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.

Flight information

:Rating: command pilot. :Flight hours: more than 4,400. :Aircraft flown: C-130E/H, MC-130E/H/P,

HC-130 The Lockheed HC-130 is an extended-range, search and rescue (SAR)/ combat search and rescue (CSAR) version of the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft, with two different versions operated by two separate services in the U.S. armed fo ...

, AC-130H/U, YMC-130, MH-53 and MH-60.

Awards and decorations

Effective dates of promotion

Gallery

File:General Norton Schwartz Fini-Flight.jpg, General Norton Schwartz upon landing at Hurlburt Field, Florida following his fini-flight during his last month tenure as Air Force Chief of Staff. File:General Norton Schwartz received his Fourth-Star.jpg, General Norton Schwartz received his Fourth-Star, pinned by

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...

General

and his wife Susie Schwartz at

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

, September 2005. File:Defense.gov News Photo 110511-F-EK235-126 - Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz gives his keynote speech during a ceremony honoring four inductees into the New Jersey Aviation Hall.jpg, General Schwartz gives his keynote speech during a ceremony at The New Jersey Aviation Hall. File:Defense.gov photo essay 080812-D-7203C-004.jpg, General Schwartz received The Defense Distinguished Service Medal, presents by

, August 12, 2008.

References

External links

*
Official USAF Biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwartz, Norton 1951 births Air University (United States Air Force) alumni Jewish American military personnel United States Air Force personnel of the Gulf War Central Michigan University alumni Joint Forces Staff College alumni Living people Massachusetts Institute of Technology fellows Military personnel from New Jersey National War College alumni People from Toms River, New Jersey Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Air Force Academy alumni United States Air Force generals Chiefs of Staff of the United States Air Force Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Toms River High School South alumni 21st-century American Jews