General Schwartz attended the United States Air Force Academy and graduated in 1973. He is an alumnus of the National War College, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a 1994 Fellow of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Seminar XXI. He has served as Commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command-Pacific, as well as Alaskan Command, Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region and the 11th Air Force. Prior to assuming his current position, General Schwartz was Commander, U.S. Transportation Command.
General Schwartz is a command pilot with more than 4,200 flying hours in a variety of aircraft. He participated as a crewmember in the 1975 airlift evacuation of Saigon, and in 1991 served as Chief of Staff of the Joint Special Operations Task Force for Northern Iraq in operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. In 1997, he led the Joint Task Force that prepared for the noncombatant evacuation of U.S. citizens in Cambodia.
August 1973 - September 1974, student, undergraduate pilot training, Laughlin AFB, Texas
October 1974 - January 1975, student, C-130 initial qualification training, Little Rock AFB, Arkansas
February 1975 - October 1977, C-130E aircraft commander, 776th and 21st Tactical Airlift Squadrons, Clark Air Base, Philippines
October 1977 - December 1977, student, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
December 1977 - October 1979, C-130E/H flight examiner, 61st Tactical Airlift Squadron, Little Rock AFB, Arkansas
October 1979 - November 1980, intern, Air Staff Training Program, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans, Operations and Readiness, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
November 1980 - July 1983, MC-130E flight examiner, 8th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Florida
July 1983 - January 1984, student, Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia
January 1984 - April 1986, action officer, Directorate of Plans, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
August 1988 - June 1989, student, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
July 1989 - July 1991, Director of Plans and Policy, Special Operations Command Europe, Patch Barracks, Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany
August 1991 - May 1993, Deputy Commander for Operations and Commander, 1st Special Operations Group, Hurlburt Field, Florida
May 1993 - May 1995, Deputy Director of Operations, later, Deputy Director of Forces, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
June 1995 - May 1997, Commander, 16th Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Florida
June 1997 - October 1998, Commander, Special Operations Command, Pacific, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii
October 1998 - January 2000, Director of Strategic Planning, Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
January 2000 - September 2000, Deputy Commander in Chief, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill AFB, Florida
September 2000 - October 2002, Commander, Alaskan Command, Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region and 11th Air Force, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska
October 2002 - October 2004, Director for Operations, the Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.
October 2004 - August 2005, Director, the Joint Staff, Washington, D. C.
September 2005 - present, Commander, U.S. Transportation Command, Scott AFB, Illinois
August 2008 - present, Chief of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
Flight Information
Rating: Command pilot
Flight hours: More than 4,200
Aircraft flown: C-130E/H, MC-130E/H/P, HC-130, AC-130H/U, YMC-130, MH-53 and MH-60