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LIEUTENANT GENERAL RONALD F. SAMS

Lt. Gen. Ronald F. Sams is the Inspector General of the Air Force, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, Washington, D.C. He oversees Air Force inspection policy, criminal investigations, counterintelligence operations, intelligence oversight, complaints, and fraud, waste and abuse programs. He is also responsible for two field operating agencies: the Air Force Inspection Agency and Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

General Sams was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1972 through the ROTC program at Michigan State University and earned his wings at Vance Air Force Base, Okla. He has served as an aircraft commander, instructor pilot and flight examiner, and has flown many models of 135-series aircraft. His staff assignments include duty at Headquarters Strategic Air Command, where he served as the Chief of Tanker Aircrew Training and was responsible for all 135-model aircraft, the KC-10 tanker and E-4B. He was assigned to the Tanker Airlift Control Center at Scott AFB, Ill., as the Director of Operations Management. The general has also served as a faculty instructor at Air Command and Staff College and in staff assignments for the Office of the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon.

The general has commanded the 55th Wing, the 4409th Operations Group (Provisional), and the 70th Air Refueling Squadron. The general has also served as the Inspector General at Headquarters Air Combat Command, and as the Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence, Headquarters U.S. Air Force. He is a veteran of operations Just Cause, Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom.

EDUCATION
1972 Bachelor of Arts degree, Michigan State University, East Lansing
1977 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
1978 Master of Arts degree in educational systems management, Chapman University
1984 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
1993 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
1995 Joint Professional Military Education Phase II, Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
2002 National Security Studies, Syracuse University, N.Y.
2003 Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.

ASSIGNMENTS
1. January 1973 - December 1973, student, undergraduate pilot training, Vance AFB, Okla.
2. January 1974 - April 1974, student, KC-135 Combat Crew Training School, Castle AFB, Calif.
3. April 1974 - November 1979, KC-135Q squadron copilot, aircraft commander, instructor pilot, flight examiner and Chief, Training Flight, 9th Air Refueling Squadron, Beale AFB, Calif.
4. November 1979 - June 1983, KC-135A instructor pilot, 93rd Air Refueling Squadron, later, faculty instructor pilot, Strategic Air Command Central Flight Instructor Course, Castle AFB, Calif.
5. August 1983 - June 1984, student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
6. June 1984 - October 1986, faculty instructor, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
7. October 1986 - June 1989, Chief, Tanker Aircrew Training Branch, Directorate of Training, Headquarters Strategic Air Command, Offutt AFB, Neb.
8. June 1989 - December 1990, Commander, 70th Air Refueling Squadron, Grissom AFB, Ind.
9. December 1990 - September 1991, Assistant Deputy Commander for Operations, 305th Air Refueling Wing, Grissom AFB, Ind., and Chief, Air Refueling Operations, 1703rd Wing (Provisional), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
10. September 1991 - August 1992, Deputy Commander, 305th Operations Group, Grissom AFB, Ind.
11. August 1992 - July 1993, student, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
12. August 1993 - September 1994, Director, Operations Management, Tanker Airlift Control Center, Scott AFB, Ill.
13. September 1994 - September 1995, Commander, 4409th Operations Group (Provisional), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
14. September 1995 - October 1998, military assistant to the Director of the Defense Technology Security Administration, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
15. November 1998 - February 2000, Commander, 55th Wing, Offutt AFB, Neb.
16. February 2000 - July 2002, Inspector General, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va.
17. July 2002 - March 2006, Director of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, Deputy Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations; Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
18. March 2006 - present, Inspector General of the Air Force, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, Washington, D.C.

FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command pilot
Flight hours: Approximately 4,700
Aircraft flown: T-37, T-38, KC-135A/D/E/Q/R/RT, EC-135A/G/L, RC-135S/U/W/V, OC/TC/WC-135, KC-10 and E-4B; For indoctrination: KC-10, E-4B, E-3B, E-8, B-52H, HC-130, HH-60, C-17, T-6, F-15 and F-16

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS 
Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Bronze Star Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with silver and bronze oak leaf clusters
Air Medal
Aerial Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with "V" device and two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with two oak leaf clusters
Combat Readiness Medal with oak leaf cluster
National Defense Service Medal with two bronze stars
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with bronze star
Southwest Asia Service Medal with two bronze stars
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Air Force Overseas Ribbon - Short with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Longevity Service Award Ribbon with silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters
Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon
Air Force Training Ribbon
Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
Kuwait Liberation Medal (Government of Kuwait)

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant June 23, 1972
First Lieutenant Dec. 7, 1974
Captain Dec. 7, 1976
Major Nov. 1, 1982
Lieutenant Colonel May 1, 1987
Colonel Sept. 1, 1992
Brigadier General Nov. 1, 1998
Major General Sept. 1, 2002
Lieutenant General March 1, 2006

(Current as of July 2009)

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COMMANDERS

DATES SERVED

Lt Gen Barton K. Yount

23 Jan 42 - 26 Sep 45

Maj Gen James P. Hodges

27 Sep 45 - 12 Apr 46

Lt Gen John K. Cannon

13 Apr 46 - 13 Oct 48

Lt Gen Robert W. Harper

14 Oct 48 - 30 Jun 54

Maj Gen Glenn O. Barcus

1 Jul 54 - 25 Jul 54

Lt Gen Charles T. Myers

26 Jul 54 - 31 Jul 58

Lt Gen Frederic H. Smith, Jr.

1 Aug 58 - 31 Jul 59

Lt Gen James E. Briggs

1 Aug 59 - 31 Jul 63

Lt Gen Robert W. Burns

1 Aug 63 - 10 Aug 64

Lt Gen William W. Momyer

11 Aug 64 - 30 Jun 66

Lt Gen Sam Maddux, Jr.

1 Jul 66 - 31 Aug 70

Lt Gen George B. Simler

1 Sep 70 - 8 Sep 72

Lt Gen William V. McBride

9 Sep 72 - 31 Aug 74

Lt Gen George H. McKee

1 Sep 74 - 28 Aug 75

Gen John W. Roberts

29 Aug 75 - 31 Mar 79

Gen Bennie L. Davis

1 Apr 79 - 28 Jul 81

Gen Thomas M. Ryan, Jr.

29 Jul 81 - 22 Jun 83

Gen Andrew P. Iosue

23 Jun 83 - 27 Aug 86

Lt Gen John A. Shaud

28 Aug 86 - 5 Jun 88

Lt Gen Robert C. Oaks

6 Jun 88 - 24 Jun 90

Lt Gen Joseph W. Ashy

25 Jun 90 - 10 Dec 92

Gen Henry Viccellio, Jr.

11 Dec 92 - 19 Jun 95

Gen Billy J. Boles

20 Jun 95 - 16 Mar 97

Gen Lloyd W. "Fig" Newton

17 Mar 97 - 21 Jun 00

Gen Hal M. Hornburg

22 Jun 00 - 9 Nov 01

Lt Gen John D. Hopper Jr.

10 Nov 01 - 14 Dec 01

Gen Donald G. Cook

15 Dec 01 - 16 Jun 05

Gen William R. Looney III

17 Jun 05 - 2 Jul 08
Gen Stephen R. Lorenz
 		 3 Jul 08 - 17 Nov 10
 
Gen Edward A. Rice Jr.
 		 18 Nov 10 - 9 Oct 13
 
Gen Robin Rand
 		 10 Oct 13 - 21 July 15
 
Lt Gen Darryl Roberson
 		 21 July 15 - 17 Nov 2017 
 
Lt. Gen. Steven Kwast
 		 17 Nov 2017 - 26 July 2019 
 
Lt. Gen. Marshall B. "Brad" Webb 26 July 2019 - 20 May 2022
Lt. Gen. Brian S. Robinson 20 May 2022 - Present