David Goldfein | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1959-12-21)December 21, 1959 (age 66) |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Service years | 1983–2020 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands | |
| Conflicts | (shot down) |
| Awards | |
| Alma mater | |
David Lee Goldfein (born December 21, 1959) is a retiredUnited States Air Forcefour-star general who last served as the 21stChief of Staff of the United States Air Force. He previously served as thevice chief of staff of the Air Force and, prior to that, he served as thedirector of the Joint Staff, a position within theJoint Chiefs of Staff who assists thechairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[1] Goldfein retired from the Air Force on October 1, 2020,[2] after over 37 years of service.[3][4]
Born atLaon-Couvron Air Base in France, Goldfein is the son of William Michael "Goldie" Goldfein (November 26, 1931 – June 19, 2019) and Mary Vanni.[5] His paternal grandfather,Boatswain's mate second class Joseph William Goldfein (June 25, 1896 – June 19, 1974), served inWorld War I with theUnited States Navy, and his father was acolonel in the Air Force from 1949 to 1982 and fought in theVietnam War. After his retirement, Goldfein's father worked for theCombined Federal Campaign inLas Vegas for 5 years and then theLink Aviation Devices inBinghamton, New York for 5 years.[6] His elder brother,Stephen M. Goldfein also served in the Air Force from 1978 to 2008, retiring as amajor general; Stephen Goldfein also served asDirector of the Joint Staff, a position his brother David would later hold.[7] David Goldfein received his commission from theUnited States Air Force Academy, where he received aB.S. degree in philosophy in 1983.[8] He is also a graduate of theU.S. Air Force Weapons School atNellis AFB. He is aDistinguished Eagle Scout and former ranger at thePhilmont Scout Ranch.[9]
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Goldfein is aCommand Pilot with more than 4,200 flying hours with theT-37,T-38,F-16C/D,F-117A,MC-12W, andMQ-9.[1]
Goldfein commandedUnited States Air Forces Central,Shaw AFB, SC andAl Udeid AB, Qatar;49th Fighter Wing,Holloman AFB, NM;52d Fighter Wing,Spangdahlem AB, Germany;366th Operations Group,Mountain Home AFB, ID; and the555th Fighter Squadron,Aviano AB, Italy.
Goldfein flew combat missions during theGulf War, and later deployed to the Vicenza Combined Air Operations Center forOperation Deliberate Force. As commander of the555th Fighter Squadron, he led his squadron flying an F-16 fighter inOperation Allied Force. During the operation, on 2 May 1999, Goldfein's F-16 was shot down[10] over western Serbia by aS-125surface-to-air missile fired byofficer (futureLt. General)Tiosav Janković [sr] from the 3rd Battery of the250th Air Defense Missile Brigade of theYugoslav Air Force. Goldfein successfully ejected, and was subsequently rescued byNATO helicopters.[11] This was one of only two crewed NATO aircraft shot down during the operation, the other was anF-117A in March.[12]
On April 26, 2016, Defense SecretaryAsh Carter announced that President Obama had nominated Goldfein to succeed GeneralMark Welsh as the 21stChief of Staff of the Air Force.[13][14] Goldfein's experience as a consensus builder, as well as his role in formulating the Air Force's contributions to the Defense Department's third offset strategy[15] were cited by Carter andSecretary of the Air ForceDeborah Lee James as reasons for his selection.[13] His confirmation hearing took place on June 16, and he succeeded Welsh on July 1, two days after his confirmation.[16][17]
As CSAF, Goldfein spearheaded theJoint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) and Advanced Battle Management (ABMS) systems, designed to connect service-level networks, platforms and sensors into a network for communicating battle information across the joint force.[18] The aim of rapidly connecting all aircraft data and sensors to each other, as well as, to other military assets was a special focus of the subject as he led the service.[19] He prioritized restoring thesquadron as the principal warfighting unit of the Air Force,[20] giving squadron commanders greater autonomy over their units, standardizing squadron command responsibilities and delegating more financial resources to squadron-level activities.[18][21] Goldfein also led a proposal to increase from 312 to 386 operational squadrons.[22][23] In September 2016, Goldfein personally selected the name "Raider" from more than 2000 naming submissions for theprototype B-21 bomber, in honor of theDoolittle Raiders.[24][25]
Goldfein initially opposed the creation of an independentspace force, concerned that the creation of a new service branch would, through competition for a larger share of the Defense budget, compromise joint warfighting capability in the space domain.[18][21] He remarked that establishing the Space Force would create a "balancing act" of building a service branch based on joint warfighting capability while simultaneously developing its own service culture.[26] He eventually became supportive of the plan upon engagement with field commanders atMaxwell Air Force Base, many of whom supported the need for a separate service branch.[21] Goldfein said in an interview withNational Defense that "a service chief singularly focused on space, space operations and space integration" could expedite military profitability in the space domain more efficiently than under the umbrella of the Air Force.[21]
In August 2017, Goldfein joined other members of theJoint Chiefs of Staff in condemning racism in the wake of theUnite the Right rally inCharlottesville, which was organized by an ex-Marine.[27][28] In June 2020, Goldfein publicly denounced themurder of George Floyd in a memo, calling it a "national tragedy" and adding that Americans "should be outraged" at the brutality shown during the incident.[29][30][31] He supported his senior enlisted advisor,ChiefKaleth O. Wright, who responded to Floyd's murder on social media.[30][32] Alongside Air Force secretaryBarbara Barrett, Goldfein subsequently directed aninspector general investigation into racial inequality and advancement opportunities for African-Americans in the Air Force.[30][33]
Goldfein's term as Air Force chief of staff ended on August 6, 2020, and he was succeeded by GeneralCharles Q. Brown Jr., who was confirmed in June.[34][35] He retired in October of the same year.[36]
Goldfein was a candidate to replace GeneralJoseph Dunford asChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2019. He was favored for the appointment by both Dunford and Secretary of DefenseJim Mattis.[37][38][39] PresidentDonald Trump, who was feuding with Mattis, nominated GeneralMark Milley instead.[39][38][37][40] Goldfein did not express any rancor over not being selected, stating that the president had "the absolute right and responsibility to pick the principal military adviser that he wants."[41]
Three and a half months after retiring, Goldfein joined the investment firmBlackstone.[42] He also began serving as a Senior Fellow at theJohns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in March 2021.[43] In March 2023, Goldfein joined Shield Capital's National Security Advisory Board, alongsideH. R. McMaster,Letitia Long,James G. Stavridis andSean Stackley.[44]Goldfein chairs the board of Google Public Sector, focused on applying Google solutions to government. He also chairs the board of Draken International LLC, a company focused on increasing the combat readiness of US and allied/partner forces. He chairs the National Board of Governors of the USO, the premier service organization that supports military troops and families both deployed and at home. Goldfein is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford alongside former SecDEF Jim Mattis and Adm (ret) Jim Ellis. He also serves as an advisor for Anduril. Goldfein was selected as a Distinguished Graduate of the USAF Academy in 2022.
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| Insignia | Rank | Date |
|---|---|---|
 | General | August 17, 2015 |
 | Lieutenant General | August 3, 2011 |
 | Major General | July 3, 2010 |
 | Brigadier General | October 1, 2007 |
 | Colonel | April 1, 2001 |
 | Lieutenant Colonel | January 1, 1998 |
 | Major | November 1, 1994 |
 | Captain | June 1, 1987 |
 | First Lieutenant | June 1, 1985 |
 | Second Lieutenant | June 1, 1983 |
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kurt Cichowski | Commander of the49th Fighter Wing 2006–2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Director of Operations of theAir Combat Command 2009–2011 | Succeeded by Charles Lyon |
| Preceded by | Commander of theUnited States Air Forces Central Command 2011–2013 | Succeeded by John Hesterman |
| Preceded by | Director of the Joint Staff 2013–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force 2015–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force 2016–2020 | Succeeded by |
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