General Rand is a retired U.S. Air Force four-star general and former commander of Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) and Air Forces Strategic, U.S. Strategic Command. He retired from the Air Force in 2018 after serving over 40 years on active duty. As commander of AFGSC, he was responsible for providing strategic deterrence, global strike and combat support. The command consisted of two numbered Air Forces, 11 active duty, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve wings, the Joint Global Strike Operations Center, and the Nuclear Command, Control and Communications (NC3) Center. Weapon systems assigned to AFGSC included all U.S. intercontinental missiles and bomber aircraft; UH-1N helicopters, E-4B National Airborne Operations Center aircraft, and the remaining U.S. Air Force NC3 weapons system. He previously served as the commander of Air Education and Training Command (AETC) at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph in Texas where he was responsible for recruiting, training, and educating Air Force personnel.
During his military career, which included six overseas assignments, he had multiple flying assignments, served as an air liaison officer duty with the U.S. Army, and completed staff tours on the Joint Staff, Office of the Secretary of Defense, and Headquarters U.S. Air Force. General Rand has more than 5,100 total flying hours, mostly in the F-16, including more than 480 combat hours.
In addition to his two commands at AFGSC and AETC, other command duties included the 36th Fighter Squadron at Osan AB, Republic of Korea; USAF Weapons School at Nellis AFB, Nevada; 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan AB, Republic of Korea; 56th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB, Arizona; 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Balad AB, Iraq; and 12th Air Force (Air Force Southern) at Davis Monthan AFB, Arizona.
A complete military biography on General Rand is available here.
General Rand also serves as chief executive officer for the Gary Sinise Foundation, a non-profit organization that offers a variety of programs, services and events for our active duty military members, veterans, first responders, and their families.