06/22/2021
On this day of , we honor Brigadier General Kristin E. Goodwin: Bomber pilot, Chief of Staff at United States Space Force Headquarters, first female commander of the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, and the first openly le***an Commandant of Cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Born in Pittsburgh to two military parents, she attended the Air Force Academy and received her Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering in 1993. For her first year of service, she served as the Air Force Academy's Assistant Deputy Executive Officer for Professional Military Studies.
She then underwent flight training for the Cessna T-37 Tweet, Raytheon T-1 Jayhawk, and Lockheed C-130 Hercules at Laughlin and Little Rock Air Force Bases. In August 1995, she was assigned to the 41st Electronic Combat Squadron at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base as the commander of a Lockheed EC-130H.
In February 1998, she began teaching other Airmen an EC-130 instructor and the Operations Executive Officer of Davis–Monthan's 355th Operations Group. From 1999 to 2001, she worked in the Pentagon's Offices of the Secretary of the Air Force and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
From 2002 to 2004, she served as flight commander with the 325th Bomb Squadron, flying T-38s and acting as mission commander on B-2 sorties. In 2005, she became Chief of Combat Plans for the 509th Bomb Wing.
General Goodwin became the Director of Operations for the 393rd Bomb Squadron in 2009. A series of command posts in multiple locations followed, including 22 months as the commander of the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, where she oversaw the first reintroduction in a decade of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress to combat.
In June 2017, the Air Force Academy announced that she would become their new Commandant of Cadets. Two years later, she became Director of the North American Aerospace Defense Command & United States Northern Command Transformation Office at Peterson Air Force Base.
After one year, Goodwin remained at Peterson and became the Chief of Staff for the United States Space Force's Space Operations Command in August 2020, the position that she continues to hold today. Her military commendations include two Legion of Merits, three Meritorious Service Medals, four Air Force Achievement Medals, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
Today and all days, we honor General Goodwin for this remarkable life and legacy of service -- a legacy that continues being built through her service with our nation's new Space Force. For all that she has done, our nation owes her an unending debt of gratitude.