Brig. Gen. Phillip A. Stewart is the Commanding General, Train, Advise, Assist Command-Air and Commander, 438th Air Expeditionary Wing, Kabul, Afghanistan. The mission of the 438th AEW is to train, advise and assist our Afghan partners to develop a professional, capable and sustainable Air Force. TAAC-Air has two air advisory groups in the country, one at Hamid Karzai International Airport and one at Kandahar Airfield.
General Stewart was commissioned in 1992 through ROTC after graduating from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has earned master’s degrees in Military Studies and Operational Planning, both from the Marine Corps University, as well as a master’s in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. Additionally, General Stewart is a graduate of the School of Advanced Warfighting at the Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia.
His command tours include serving as the Wing Commander of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, California, and as Commander of the 362nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron at Balad Air Base, Iraq, where he commanded the Air Force’s first MC-12 squadron. Prior to assuming his Wing Commander role, General Stewart served as the Vice Commander of the 9th RW. His staff duties include tours on the Joint Staff as the Assistant Deputy Director for Political-Military Affairs for the Middle East, Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate and as the Senior Executive Assistant to the Director of Strategy, Plans, and Policy, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. Additionally, he has completed staff tours at 19th Air Force as the Commander’s Aide-de-Camp, as the Chief of the Fighter-Bomber Assignments Branch and as the Executive Officer to the Commander, Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Virginia.
General Stewart has served as an instructor and evaluator pilot in multiple aircraft and holds the rating of command pilot with more than 2,500 hours in the F-15C, AT-38, T-38, T-37, RQ-4, U-2 and MC-12. He has more than 500 hours of combat time and has flown 108 combat missions.
EDUCATION
1992 Bachelor of Management, The Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
1998 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2003 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
2005 Marine Corps Command and Staff College, Quantico, Va.
2005 Master of Military Studies, Marine Corps University, Quantico, Va.
2006 School of Advanced Warfighting, Marine Corps University, Quantico, Va.
2007 Master of Operational Studies, Marine Corps University, Quantico, Va.
2007 Air War College, by correspondence
2011 U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pa.
2011 Master of Strategic Studies, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pa.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. 1993–1994, Student Pilot, Columbus AFB, Miss.
2. 1994–1995, F-15C Student Pilot, Tyndall AFB, Fla.
3. October 1995–October 1997, F-15C Pilot, Electronic Combat Pilot, 27th Fighter Squadron, Langley AFB, Va.
4. November 1997–October 1999, AT-38 Instructor Pilot, Chief, Weapons & Tactics, Flight Commander, 435th Flying Training Squadron, Randolph AFB, Texas
5. October 1999–May 2001, Aide-de-Camp to the Commander, 19th Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas
6. May 2001–July 2004, Flight Commander, 18th OG Chief, Stan Eval, F-15C Evaluator Pilot, Kadena Air Base, Japan
7. August 2004–August 2005, Chief, Fighter-Bomber Assignments Branch, ACC Headquarters, Langley AFB, Va.
8. August 2005–2006, Student, Marine Corps Command and Staff College, Quantico, Va.
9. 2006–2007, Student, School of Advanced Warfighting, Quantico, Va.
10. October 2007–October 2008, Operations Officer, 1st Operations Support Squadron, Langley AFB, Va.
11. October 2008–April 2009, Executive Officer to the Commander, Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va.
12. April 2009–April 2010, Commander, 362nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, Joint Base Balad, Iraq
13. July 2010–June 2011, Student, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pa.
14. July 2011–May 2012, Vice Commander, 9th Reconnaissance Wing, Beale AFB, Calif.
15. May 2012–May 2014, Commander, 9th Reconnaissance Wing, Beale AFB, Calif.
16. June 2014–June 2015, Assistant Deputy Director for Political-Military Affairs for the Middle East, Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate (J5), Joint Staff, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
17. June 2015–May 2016, Senior Executive Assistant (EA) to the Director of Strategy, Plans, and Policy (J5) on the Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
18. June 2016–May 2017, Deputy to the Director of Operations, Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration for the United States Air Forces in Europe and United States Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA A3/10), Ramstein AB, Germany
19. June 2017–present, Commanding General, Train, Advise, Assist Command-Air (TAAC-Air) and Commander, 438th Air Expeditionary Wing, Kabul, Afghanistan
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: command pilot
Flight Hours: more than 2,500, more than 500 combat hours
Aircraft Flown: T-37, T-38, AT-38, F-15C, MC-12, RQ-4, and U-2
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star
Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with three oak leave clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal
AF Outstanding Unit Award with valor device and three oak leaf clusters
Combat Readiness Medal with oak leaf cluster
National Defense Service Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant June 6, 1992
First Lieutenant June 6, 1994
Captain June 6, 1996
Major March 15, 2003
Lieutenant Colonel Dec. 12, 2006
Colonel Oct. 1, 2010
Brigadier General Aug. 2, 2017
(Current as of June 2017)