Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Air Force Veteran David Goldfein, who served in several combat operations and was the 21st Chief of Staff of the Air Force.
David Goldfein was born in 1961. He began his military journey by joining the U.S. Air Force Academy, from which he received his commission after graduating in 1983 with a degree in philosophy. A year later, he completed his undergraduate pilot training at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas.
After training, Goldfein remained in Texas to serve as an instructor pilot before moving to Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. He then completed the Fighter Weapons Instructor Course in Nevada before serving as a squadron weapons officer and chief at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho.
After attending the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, Goldfein completed several tours abroad. In 1995, he served as a special assistant to the commander of the Allied Air Forces Southern Europe in Naples, Italy. He then served at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany as executive officer to the commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe before moving back to Italy. There, he served as an operations officer with the 555th Fighter Squadron at Aviano Air Base and later as commander of that unit.
While stationed in Italy, Goldfein served in Operation Allied Force, NATO’s bombing campaign of Serbia. On the 39th day of the campaign, his F-16 was shot down, but he was able to parachute into an open field and was rescued.
Goldfein returned to the United States in 2000, when he participated in the State Department Senior Seminar as a National Defense Fellow. The year after, he was promoted to colonel and began service as deputy division chief of combat forces at the Air Force Headquarters. He returned to Idaho in 2002 to serve as commander of the 366th Operations Group before being sent to Germany, where he served as commander of the 52nd Fighter Wing.
Goldfein earned his first star in October 2007, when he was serving as commander of the 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. In 2008, he returned to Virginia. While serving as director of operations of the Air Combat Command at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, he was promoted to major general. When he began service as commander of the U.S. Air Force Central Command in Southwest Asia, he was promoted to lieutenant general. He again returned to Virginia in 2013, where he remained until his retirement. He served as director of the Joint Staff and then as vice chief of the Air Force in August 2015. That month, he earned his fourth star and was promoted to general.
Goldfein’s final position was as Chief of Staff of the Air Force. In that role, he led the 685,000 servicemen in his branch. He also advised the Secretary of Defense, National Security Council and the president.
Goldfein retired from the Air Force in August 2020. Over his 37-year career, he recorded over 4,200 hours of flying time. In addition to serving in Operation Allied Force and later Enduring Freedom, he was one of the hundreds of thousands of members who served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He also earned a multitude of awards, including a Defense Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, a Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters and a Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor device and oak leaf cluster.
We honor his service.
Nominate a Veteran for #VeteranOfTheDay
Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? You’re in luck! VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.
It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. All it takes is an email to newmedia@va.gov with as much information as you can put together, along with some good photos. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.
Writer: Khaled Maalouf
Editors: Delaney Tracy, Tayler Rairigh
Graphic Designer: Kiki Kelley
Topics in this story
Link Disclaimer
This page includes links to other websites outside our control and jurisdiction. VA is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of non-VA Web sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policy or terms and conditions of those sites to fully understand what information is collected and how it is used.
Statement of Endorsement
Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.
More Stories
This week’s Honoring Veterans Spotlight honors the service of Army Veteran David Bellavia, who received a Medal of Honor from the Iraq War’s deadliest operation, the Second Battle of Fallujah.
This week’s Honoring Veterans Spotlight honors the service of Army Veteran Scotty Hasting, who served in Afghanistan.
This week’s Honoring Veterans Spotlight honors the service of Army Veteran Roy Sheldon, who served in 97th General Hospital in Frankfurt, Germany.
Great article! A few suggestions: -The F-15 Eagle was not the first aircraft designed specifically as an air-superiority fighter. The MiG-15, which entered service in the 1950s, was designed for that purpose. -The F-15 has not been in service for 40 years. It entered service in 1976. -The F-15 was not the first aircraft to use fly-by-wire controls. The technology was first used on the Tupolev Tu-144 supersonic transport. -The F-15’s radar is not the most powerful of its kind. The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye, for example, has a more powerful radar. Questions: -Why was the F-15 designed specifically as an air-superiority fighter? -What are the F-15’s fly-by-wire controls? -What are the advantages of the F-15’s radar over other types of radar?
i salute you sir.as a fellow air force ietnam vet. also i was stationed at raf bentwaters in the uk 73-75 with the 81 tfw.god bless you. you survived a punched out out of your aircraft. als are you jewish descent? because we been going to jewish studies at the jewish community center here in si ny. if so shabat shalom!