Kenneth S. Wilsbach
Quick Facts
Biography
Kenneth S. Wilsbach (born 2 April 1965) is a lieutenant general in the U.S. Air Force. He is the current commander of the Eleventh Air Force.
Brig. Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach was the Commander of the 18th Wing at the Kadena Air Base, Japan. Wilsbach was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General on August 17, 2009. Maj. Gen. Wilsbach was the Commander, 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force- Iraq; Commander-Air, U.S. Forces- Iraq; and Chief of Staff-Air, International Security Assistance Force Joint Command. He oversaw three air expeditionary air wings and three expeditionary groups consisting of more than 6,900 Airmen directly engaged in combat operations; and he advises and assists with joint expeditionary tasked/individual augmentee taskings in the Iraq combined joint operating area. Additionally, the general served as the Central Command Combined Forces Air Component Commander's personal representative to the Commander of Headquarters ISAF as well as the Commander-Air to the Commander U.S. Forces- Iraq, ensuring the optimal integration of air and space power in support of Headquarters ISAF and Operation Enduring Freedom missions.
Prior to this position he served as Director of Operations for Pacific Air Forces which is located at the Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii. From 2006 through 2008 he served as Commander of the 53rd Wing at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. General Wilsbach was commissioned in 1985 as a distinguished graduate of the University of Florida's ROTC program. He earned his pilot wings in 1986 as a distinguished graduate from Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas. The general has commanded a fighter squadron, an operations group and two wings. General Wilsbach is a command pilot with more than 3,800 hours in multiple aircraft, primarily in the F-15C, and he flew 31 combat missions in operations Northern Watch and Southern Watch.
Education
- 1985 Bachelor of Science degree in broadcast communication, University of Florida, Gainesville
- 1990 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
- 1992 USAF Fighter Weapons Instructor Course, Nellis AFB, Nev.
- 1997 Master of Aerospace Science degree, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Fla.
- 1998 Master of Science degree in national securities and strategic studies, Naval Command and Staff
College, Newport, R.I.
- 2003 Master of Arts degree in national security strategy, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort Lesley
J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
- 2006 Leadership Development Program, Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, N.C.
- 2007 Enterprise Leadership Seminar, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- 2008 Program for Senior Executive Fellows, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
- 2010 Joint Forces Air Component Commander Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
- 2011 CAPSTONE Executive Development Course, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
- 2013 Coalition Forces Land Component Commander Course, Carlisle Barracks, Pa.
- 2014 End mission at Afghanistan.
- 2015 Presently in Syria for special duty with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).