Margaret H Woodward

Updated on Oct 28, 2023

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Years of service 1982–2014		Name Margaret Woodward Rank Major General

Allegiance United States of America Battles/wars Invasion of Panama Operation Allied Force Operation Northern Watch Operation Southern Watch Operation Enduring Freedom Iraq War Operation Odyssey Dawn Battles and wars United States invasion of Panama Commands held Seventeenth Air Force, 89th Airlift Wing Similar People Carter Ham, Muammar Gaddafi, Barack Obama, Harry B Harris Jr, Robert Gates
Service/branch United States Air Force Education Arizona State University

2015 GOE Major General(ret) Margaret H. Woodward, (USAF) Interview 2of2

Margaret H. Woodward (born 1960) is an American military officer and a major general in the United States Air Force.

Margaret H. Woodward Who Is Major General Margaret H Woodward United

As commander of the 17th Air Force and U.S. Air Forces Africa, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, she was responsible for all US air actions that involved Africa. In March 2011, she commanded the air component of the US contribution to the no-fly zone over Libya, sanctioned by the United Nations, making her the first woman to oversee a U.S. combat air campaign.

Margaret H. Woodward Odyssey Dawn Commander Margaret Woodward End of Libya

She retired on April 1, 2014.

Margaret H. Woodward httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Early life and education

Margaret H. Woodward Major General Margaret Woodward The 2011 TIME 100 TIME

Woodward was born in 1960 and grew up in India and Pakistan, where her father worked for the United States Agency for International Development. She left the region when she was about ten years old.

Career

In 1982, Woodward graduated from the Arizona State University and joined the U.S. Air Force the year after. For most of her career she flew aerial refueling aircraft such as the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, though she also has experience in the Boeing C-40 Clipper, the C-37 military version of the Gulfstream G550, and the T-37 and T-38 trainers. She was involved the U.S. invasion of Panama, Operation Allied Force, Operations Northern and Southern Watch, Operation Enduring Freedom and missions during the Iraq War.

In 2007, she became commander of the 89th Airlift Wing, which includes responsibility for Air Force One, and in June 2010 became commander of the Seventeenth Air Force, the U.S. Air Force branch of the United States Africa Command. As such, she was the operational commander for the U.S. involvement in the 2011 military intervention in Libya, dubbed Operation Odyssey Dawn, before command of the whole operation was transferred to NATO.

After handing over command of Seventeenth Air Force, she was posted Stateside. Her Air Force official profile lists her appointments since as:

May 2012 - September 2012, Acting Director, Operational Planning, Policy & Strategy, Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, Plans and Requirements, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.

September 2012 - June 2013, Air Force Chief of Safety, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C., and Commander, Air Force Safety Center, Kirtland AFB, N.M.

June 2013 - mid 2014, Director, Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, Office of the Vice Chief of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. Retired mid 2014.

Education

1982: Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering at the Arizona State University, Tempe

1995: Air Command and Staff College, Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base

1997: Master's degree in aviation science, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Fla.

2001: Master's degree in national security strategy, National War College in Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.

Promotions

List of promotions Woodward has received during her career:

References

Margaret H. Woodward Wikipedia

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