Charles F. Wald

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General

Charles F. Wald
General Charles F. Wald
Nickname(s)Chuck
Born1948 (age 72–73)
North Dakota, U.S.[1]
AllegianceUnited States United States
Service/branch United States Air Force
Years of service1971 - 2006 (35 years)
RankUS-O10 insignia.svg General
Commands held
Battles/warsVietnam War
AwardsSee below

General Charles "Chuck" F. Wald (/wɔːld/; born 1948) is the former Deputy Commander of United States European Command. He retired on July 1, 2006, and was succeeded by General William E. Ward.

Military career[]

General Wald earned his commission through the Air Force ROTC program in 1971. He has combat time as an O-2A forward air controller in Vietnam and as an F-16 pilot flying over Bosnia. The general has served as a T-37 instructor pilot and F-15 flight commander. Other duties include Chief of the U.S. Air Force Combat Terrorism Center, support group commander, operations group commander, and special assistant to the Chief of Staff for National Defense Review. He was also the Director of Strategic Planning and Policy at Headquarters U.S. Air Force, and served on the Joint Staff as the Vice Director for Strategic Plans and Policy.

General Wald commanded the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base, Italy, where on August 30, 1995, he led one of the wing's initial strike packages against the ammunition depot at Pale, Bosnia-Herzegovina, in one of the first NATO combat operations. He also commanded the 9th Air Force and U.S. Central Command Air Forces, Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, where he led the development of the Afghanistan air campaign for Operation Enduring Freedom, including the idea of embedding tactical air control parties in ground special operations forces. Prior to assuming his current position, he was Deputy Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations at the Pentagon.

General Wald, director and senior advisor to the Aerospace & Defense Industry for Deloitte LLP, is responsible for providing senior leadership in strategy and relationships with defense contractors and Department of Defense (DOD) program executives. He is a subject matter specialist in weapons procurement and deployment, counter terrorism, national, energy and international security policy. Prior to joining Deloitte, General Wald was the Vice President, International Programs for L-3 Communications Corporation, based in Washington D.C.

Wald has argued that there is a military option for a strike against Iran.[2]

Wald serves as a co-leader of the National Security Project (NSP) at the Bipartisan Policy Center.[3]

Football career[]

In the 1970 NFL Draft, Chuck Wald was selected in the 14th round by the Atlanta Falcons.[4]

While attending North Dakota State University, General Wald was a president of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and a starting wide receiver of the Bison football team.

Education[]

Assignments[]

  1. February 1971 - January 1972, student, undergraduate pilot training, Williams AFB, Arizona
  2. May 1972 - February 1973, forward air controller, Da Nang AB, South Vietnam
  3. May 1973 - May 1976, instructor pilot and wing flight examiner, Air Training Command, Craig AFB, Alabama
  4. December 1976 - August 1978, project officer, Operational Systems Engineering Branch, Norton AFB, California
  5. August 1978 - August 1981, F-15A aircraft commander, instructor pilot and flight commander, 22nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, Bitburg AB, West Germany
  6. August 1981 - September 1982, student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
  7. September 1982 - August 1985, flight commander, assistant operations and operations officer, 71st Tactical Fighter Squadron, Langley AFB, Virginia
  8. August 1985 - August 1989, Chief, Strategic North Atlantic Treaty Organization Branch; later, Chief, Strategic and Middle East-Africa Branch; later, Chief, U.S. Air Force Combat Terrorism Center; later, assistant executive officer to the Air Force Chief of Staff, Washington, D.C.
  9. August 1989 - July 1990, student, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
  10. July 1990 - March 1993, Deputy Commander for Operations, 86th Tactical Fighter Wing; later, Commander, 86th Support Group; later, Commander, 86th Operations Group, Ramstein AB, Germany
  11. March 1993 - September 1993, executive officer to Deputy Chief of Staff of Operations, , Germany
  12. September 1993 - May 1995, executive officer to Director of Operations and U.S. Senior National Representative, Headquarters Allied Air Forces Central Europe, Ramstein AB, Germany
  13. May 1995 - July 1997, Commander, 31st Fighter Wing, Aviano AB, Italy
  14. July 1997 - January 1998, special assistant to the Chief of Staff for National Defense Review, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
  15. January 1998 - October 1998, Director of Strategic Planning and Policy, Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
  16. October 1998 - January 2000, Vice Director for Strategic Plans and Policy, the Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.
  17. January 2000 - November 2001, Commander, 9th Air Force and U.S. Central Command Air Forces, Shaw AFB, South Carolina
  18. November 2001 - December 2002, Deputy Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
  19. December 2002 - July 2006, Deputy Commander, Headquarters U.S. European Command, Stuttgart, Germany

Flight information[]

  • Rating: Command pilot
  • Flight hours: More than 3,600, including 430 combat hours over Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Iraq and Bosnia.
  • Aircraft flown: C-20, O-2, G-35 Gulf Stream, T-37, T-38, F16 and F-15

Awards and decorations[]

COMMAND PILOT WINGS.png US Air Force Command Pilot Badge
Joint Chiefs of Staff seal.svg Joint Chiefs of Staff Badge
USEUCOM.svg United States European Command Badge
Personal decorations
Bronze oak leaf cluster
 Defense Distinguished Service Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Width-44 crimson ribbon with a pair of width-2 white stripes on the edges
 Legion of Merit with bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
 Distinguished Flying Cross with bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Width-44 crimson ribbon with two width-8 white stripes at distance 4 from the edges.
 Meritorious Service Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster
Silver oak leaf cluster
 Air Medal with silver oak leaf cluster
Aerial Achievement Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal
Unit awards
Bronze oak leaf cluster
 Presidential Unit Citation with bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
 Joint Meritorious Unit Award with two bronze oak leaf clusters
V
Silver oak leaf cluster
 Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor device and silver oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
 Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with four bronze oak leaf clusters
State awards
Superior Honor Award.svg State Department Superior Honor Award
Dir DIA Award.JPG Defense Intelligence Agency Director's Award
Service and campaign medals
Combat Readiness Medal
Bronze star
Bronze star
Width=44 scarlet ribbon with a central width-4 golden yellow stripe, flanked by pairs of width-1 scarlet, white, Old Glory blue, and white stripes
 National Defense Service Medal with two bronze service stars
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Bronze star
 Vietnam Service Medal with bronze service star
Bronze star
Width-44 ribbon with the following stripes, arranged symmetrically from the edges to the center: width-2 black, width-4 chamois, width-2 Old Glory blue, width-2 white, width-2 Old Glory red, width-6 chamouis, width-3 myrtle green up to a central width-2 black stripe
 Southwest Asia Service Medal with bronze service star
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Armed Forces Service Medal
Humanitarian Service Medal
Service, training, and marksmanship awards
Air Force Overseas Short Tour Service Ribbon
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
 Air Force Overseas Long Tour Service Ribbon with three bronze oak leaf clusters
Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with gold frame
Silver oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
 Air Force Longevity Service Award with silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters
Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon
Air Force Training Ribbon
Foreign awards
French National Order of Merit, Commandeur Medal
Gold Cross of Honor of the German Armed Forces
Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation
NATO Medal for Former Yugoslavia
Silver star
 Inter-American Defense Board Medal with silver star
Vietnam Campaign Medal
National Guard awards
NDNG Distinguished Service Medal.png North Dakota Distinguished Service Medal

Other achievements[]

  • Honorary Doctorate of Laws, North Dakota State University

Effective dates of promotion[]

Promotions
Insignia Rank Date
US-O10 insignia.svg General January 1, 2003
US-O9 insignia.svg Lieutenant General  January 12, 2000
US-O8 insignia.svg Major General September 1, 1998
US-O7 insignia.svg Brigadier General February 1, 1996
US-O6 insignia.svg Colonel March 1, 1991
US-O5 insignia.svg Lieutenant Colonel February 1, 1986
US-O4 insignia.svg Major October 24, 1980
US-O3 insignia.svg Captain February 3, 1975
US-OF1A.svg First Lieutenant August 3, 1972
US-OF1B.svg Second Lieutenant February 3, 1971

Notes[]

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ Buzzing Iran
  3. ^ [2] "National Security Project"
  4. ^ Official Atlanta Falcons draft history Archived January 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine

References[]

  • USEUCOM Homepage
  • Wall Street Journal article on General Wald
  • Deloitte LLP Biography for General Charles Wald
  • Appearances on C-SPAN
  • Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Air Force document: "General Charles F. "Chuck" Wald biography".
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