Who is Gen. Norton Schwartz?

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Gen. Norton Schwartz, currently commander of U.S. Transportation Command, has been nominated to be the next Air Force chief of staff.


Who is Gen. Norton Schwartz?
By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jun 10, 2008 7:35:43 EDT

The general nominated to be the next Air Force chief of staff, Gen. Norton Schwartz, rose up through the ranks as a special operations pilot who also succeeded in Air Staff and joint assignments.

A 1973 political science graduate of the Air Force Academy, Schwartz flew his first operational C-130E Hercules mission in 1975, including airlift missions evacuating people out of Saigon that year.

In 1980, Schwartz joined the world of Air Force special operations with an assignment to the 8th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla., flying MC-130E Combat Talons. The position came a few months after the failed Iranian hostage raid mission highlighted problems with joint special operations.

“There are seminal events in all our lives,” Schwartz said in an April 2000 interview with Air Force Times on the raid’s 20th anniversary. “This was one of the momentous events for my generation.

The aftermath of the raid eventually led to the creation of the Air Force Special Operations Command, creating structure where Schwartz and others could gain experience as group and wing bosses. In June 1995, Schwartz took command of the 16th Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt and in 2000 became deputy commander of U.S, Special Operations Command.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/06/airforce_schwartz_bio_060908w/