The Air Force’s Black Ceiling

I posed the following question on several social media sites: “how many black, active duty, CONUS fighter wing commanders have there been in the Air Force? I prefaced the question by saying that I had only known of one, General Lloyd “Fig” Newton back in 1993. The answer to the question had historical significance as it pertains to diversity. In Col McGee’s biography it stated that “stateside commands were not available to black officers in 1954. Chappie James broke the color barrier with a command at Otis Air Base near Boston in 1956”. (Smith, 2008) The Gen James reference pertained to command of a fighter squadron but I felt I had to point it out to identify whether there was any lingering relevance in 2016. The answer to the question is also a pivotal one because I believe it points to why the Air Force has had such as a scant number of black fighter and bomber Numbered Air Force Commanders. I could find no one who knew of any black fighter wing commanders in the CONUS since Gen Newton. The answer to the black CONUS fighter wing commander question led me to do some research. Specifically I wanted to see if I missed any black fighter wing commanders and to see if there was indeed a connection between serving as a fighter wing commander and being selected to become a fighter NAF commander. I decided to research the careers of all the Wing Commanders of the 1^st, 4^th and 20^th Fighter Wings from about 1975 to the present. I chose these wings because they are some of the wings that I have previously referred to as “premier wings”. They have this distinction from me because of their support of combat operations in Iraq (under AFCENT/9^th Air Force). I have also given them this distinction because of the success that the commanders of these wings have achieved.

From 1975 to 2016, eleven of the commanders from these three bases have gone on to achieve four-star rank and eighteen have achieved three-star rank—many of them NAF Commanders. The number of four-stars may grow as several of the three-stars are junior enough to be promoted. From 1^st fighter wing alone have come seven four-stars (1 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1 Air Force Chief of Staff, 1 Commander of SAC, 2 Commanders of USAFE, 1 AFMC and 1 AETC Commander) and four three-stars 1 NAF CC, 2 HQ USAF Directors of Operations and 1 HQ USAF Inspector General. The 4^th wing has produced three four-stars (including 2 TAC/ACC Commanders, I US Joint Forces Command Commander) and seven three-stars (including 5 NAF CCs). The 20^th fighter wing has produced a four-star Air Force Chief of Staff and seven three-3 stars (including 3 NAF CCs).

There is no secret to greater diversity in the senior fighter pilot ranks of the Air Force. The path to success lies in plain view in the resumes of its most successful leaders. The Air Force does not have more black fighter pilot four-stars because of its dearth in black fighter pilot three-stars. It does not have more black fighter pilot three-stars because it does not have more black, one-star commanders of its premier fighter wings. It does not have more one-star commanders of its premier fighter wings because it has not done the work needed to identify and develop high-potential black senior captains and majors. I will show in great detail what this type of early identification and development this looks like for non-minority officers in the next segment entitled “Go Find Me a Major”.