Years of service 1969-2002 | Rank Lieutenant general Name Paul Carlton, | |
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Born May 13, 1946 (age 77)
Roswell, New Mexico ( 1946-05-13 ) Commands held Surgeon General of the Air Force Awards Distinguished Service Medal (2)
Legion of Merit (2)
Airman's Medal
Air Medal Relations General Paul K. Carlton (father) Education United States Air Force Academy | ||
Allegiance United States of America Service/branch United States Air Force | ||
Lieutenant General (Dr.) Paul Kendall Carlton Jr. (born May 13, 1947) was the 17th Surgeon General of the United States Air Force, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Bolling Air Force Base, D.C.
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General Carlton was commissioned after being honored a distinguished graduate of the United States Air Force Academy in 1969. He is a fellow and former Air Force governor of the American College of Surgeons. He was named a consultant in general surgery to the Air Force surgeon general in 1981. He conceptualized and implemented the first Air Force rapid-response surgical team in Europe—the flying ambulance surgical trauma team. He remains an active surgeon having performed more than 4,000 operations as principal surgeon and 6,000 as first assistant. He has published extensively in medical literature.
An active flier, General Carlton holds Federal Aviation Administration commercial, instrument, multi-engine, glider and instructor ratings. During Operation Desert Storm, he commanded the 1702nd Air Refueling Wing Contingency Hospital, completing 32 combat support missions and 140 combat flying hours in the C-21, C-130, KC-10 and KC-135. He retired from the Air Force December 1, 2002.
After retiring from the Air Force, General Carlton was named Director of the Homeland Security Initiative for the Texas A&M Health Science Center to address homeland security issues related to human health.
General Carlton is the managing member of PK Concepts, LLC.