Brig Gen Joel L. Carey 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.
Brig Gen Carey was commissioned as a distinguished graduate of the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Baylor University in 1992. He has served in numerous positions at the squadron, group, wing, numbered Air Force, Major Command, and Joint Chiefs of Staff levels, including command at the squadron and wing level and vice commander of two combat wings. He has deployed in support of operations DELIBERATE FORCE, PROVIDE COMFORT, NORTHERN WATCH, SOUTHERN WATCH, ENDURING FREEDOM and U.S. Air Forces Central Command’s Theater Security Package.
Brig Gen Carey is a command pilot with more than 3,000 hours, in the F-15C, A-29, F-111, EF-111, T-38C, C-208 and MC-12W aircraft including over 500 combat hours.
EDUCATION
1992 Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Baylor University, Waco, Texas
1998 Distinguished Graduate, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2006 Master of Military Operational Art and Science, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2006 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2013 Master of Strategic Studies, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2013 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2017 Air Force Enterprise Leadership Seminar, Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
ASSIGNMENTS
1. May 1993 – July 1994, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Laughlin AFB, Texas
2. July 1994 – May 1998, Student, F-111 Formal Training Unit and student, EF-111 Transition course; later, flight lead and Assistant Chief of Plans, 429th Electronic Combat Squadron, 27th Fighter Wing, Cannon AFB, N.M.
3. May 1998 – December 1998, Student, F-15C Formal Training Unit, 1st Fighter Squadron, Tyndall AFB, Fla.
4. December 1998 – December 2001, F-15C Mission Commander; Chief of Safety, 12th Fighter Squadron; later, Flight Commander, 44th Fighter Squadron, 18th Wing, Kadena AB, Japan
5. January 2002 – July 2005, F-15C Instructor Pilot and Flight Examiner; Assistant Director of Operations, 1st Fighter Squadron; Chief of Standardization and Evaluation, 325th Operations Group, 325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall AFB, Fla.
6. July 2005 – June 2006, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
7. July 2006 – June 2009, Chief of Policy, 3rd Air Force; later Chief, Commander’s Action Group and Executive Officer to Commander, U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein AB, Germany
8. July 2009 – June 2012, F-15C Instructor Pilot and Flight Examiner; Chief, Plans and Programs, 18th Wing; Director of Operations, then Commander, 44th Fighter Squadron, 18th Wing, Kadena AB, Japan
9. July 2012 – July 2013, Student, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
10. July 2013 – December 2013, Vice Commander, 451st Air Expeditionary Wing, Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan
11. February 2014 – July 2014, Vice Commander, 438th Air Expeditionary Wing, Kabul, Afghanistan
12. July 2014 – June 2016, Chief, Force Application Division, Force Structure, Resources and Assessment Directorate (J8), Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
13. June 2016 – May 2018, Commander, 12th Flying Training Wing, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas
14. June 2018 – Present, Commanding General, Train, Advise, Assist Command-Air (TAAC-Air) and Commander, 438th Air Expeditionary Wing, Kabul, Afghanistan
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
July 2014 – June, 2016 Chief, Force Application Division, Force Structure, Resources and Assessment Directorate (J8), Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., as a colonel
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight hours: More than 3,000, including 516 in combat
Aircraft flown: F-15C/D, A-29, F-111, EF-111, MC-12W, C-208 and T-38C
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal
Combat Readiness Medal with two oak leaf clusters
National Defense Service Medal with bronze star
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Humanitarian Service Medal
Non-Article 5 NATO Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant, May 16, 1992
First Lieutenant, Nov. 8, 1994
Captain Nov. 8, 1996
Major, May 1, 2003
Lieutenant Colonel, May 1, 2008
Colonel, Oct. 1, 2013
Brigadier General, Frocked
(Current as of June 2018)