Carrol Howard "Howie" Chandler (born March 16, 1952),[1] is a retired
United States Air Force four-star
general. He last served as the 35th
Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force from August 27, 2009, to January 14, 2011. He previously served as commander of
Pacific Air Forces from November 2007 to August 20, 2009, and deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and requirements from October 23, 2005, to November 29, 2007. As vice chief, he presided over the
Air Staff and served as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Requirements Oversight Council and Deputy Advisory Working Group. He assisted the chief of staff with organizing, training, and equipping of 680,000 active-duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian forces serving in the United States and overseas. He retired from the Air Force by March 1, 2011. In 2012 he joined
Pratt & Whitney Military Engines as vice president for military business development and international programs.
Background
Chandler grew up in
Carthage, Missouri,[2] and entered the U.S. Air Force in 1974 after graduating from the
United States Air Force Academy. He has commanded a numbered air force, two fighter wings, a support group and a fighter squadron. His previous staff assignments include two tours at Headquarters Pacific Air Forces and at the Pentagon, as well as tours at Headquarters
United States Pacific Command, Headquarters U.S. Military Training Mission in Saudi Arabia and Headquarters
Allied Air Forces Southern Europe. Prior to assuming his current position, General Chandler served as commander of Alaskan Command, Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region,
11th Air Force and Joint Task Force – Alaska with headquarters at
Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. The general is a
command pilot with more than 3,900 flying hours in the T-38, F-15 and F-16.
June 1974 – September 1975, student, Undergraduate Pilot Training,
Laughlin AFB, Texas
October 1975 – December 1978, T-38 instructor pilot and flight examiner, Laughlin AFB, Texas
December 1978 – November 1981, instructor pilot and assistant operations officer, 560th Flying Training Squadron,
Randolph AFB, Texas
November 1981 – November 1983, squadron standardization officer, flight commander and wing flight examiner, 67th Tactical Fighter Squadron,
Kadena Air Base, Japan
November 1983 – May 1985, chief of Air-to-Air Tactics Branch, Directorate of Standardization and Evaluation, Headquarters Pacific Air Forces,
Hickam AFB, Hawaii
May 1985 – September 1985, aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Command,
Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii
September 1985 – January 1987, Air Force aide to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.
January 1987 – August 1987, assistant operations officer, 44th Tactical Fighter Squadron, and chief of Standardization and Evaluation Division, 18th Wing, Kadena AB, Japan
August 1987 – June 1988, operations officer, 67th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Kadena AB, Japan
June 1988 – January 1990, commander of 44th Fighter Squadron, Kadena AB, Japan
January 1990 – August 1991, chief of Operations Inspection Division, Office of the Inspector General, Headquarters Pacific Air Forces, Hickam AFB, Hawaii
June 1992 – August 1994, chief of Air Force Division, Headquarters U.S. Military Training Mission, and senior U.S. Air Force adviser to the
Royal Saudi Air Force, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
August 1994 – May 1995, commander of 554th Support Group,
Nellis AFB, Nevada
May 1995 – April 1996, commander of 33rd Fighter Wing,
Eglin AFB, Florida
April 1996 – July 1998, commander of 56th Fighter Wing,
Luke AFB, Arizona
August 1998 – November 1999, chief of staff, Headquarters Allied Air Forces Southern Europe, Naples, Italy
November 1999 – March 2000, assistant chief of staff for operations, A-3 Division, Headquarters Allied Air Forces Southern Europe, Naples, Italy
April 2000 – October 2000, director for expeditionary aerospace force implementation, Deputy Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
October 2000 – May 2001, director of operational plans, deputy chief of staff for air and space operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
May 2001 – September 2002, director of aerospace operations, Headquarters Air Combat Command,
Langley AFB, Virginia
September 2002 – May 2003, commander of Alaskan Command, Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region and 11th Air Force,
Elmendorf AFB, Alaska
May 2003 – October 2005, commander of Alaskan Command, Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region, 11th Air Force and Joint Task Force – Alaska, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska
October 2005 – November 2007, deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and requirements, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
November 2007 – August 2009, commander of Pacific Air Forces; air component commander for U.S. Pacific Command; and executive director of Pacific Air Combat Operations Staff, Hickam AFB, Hawaii
August 2009 – January 2011, Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.