Gen Michael Hostage, USAF (ret.)

Gen. Mike Hostage is Commander, Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Va. As the commander, he was responsible for organizing, training, equipping and maintaining combat-ready forces for rapid deployment and employment while ensuring strategic air defense forces are ready to meet the challenges of peacetime air sovereignty and wartime defense. The command operates more than 1,300 aircraft, 24 wings, 14 bases, and more than 300 operating locations worldwide with 98,000 active-duty and civilian personnel. When mobilized, the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve contribute more than 700 aircraft and 53,000 people to ACC. As the Combat Air Forces lead agent, ACC develops strategy, doctrine, concepts, tactics, and procedures for air- and space-power employment. The command provides conventional and information warfare forces to all unified commands to ensure air, space and information superiority for warfighters and national decision- makers. The command can also be called upon to assist national agencies with intelligence, surveillance and crisis response capabilities.

Prior to assuming this position, General Hostage was Commander, U.S. Air Forces Central Command, Southwest Asia. As the Air Component Commander for U.S. Central Command, the general was responsible for developing contingency plans and conducting air operations in a 20- nation area of responsibility covering Central and Southwest Asia.

General Hostage is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons School, and a command pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours. He has flown combat missions in multiple aircraft, logging more than 600 combat hours in operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn.