Paul J. Selva

Paul Joseph Selva (born September 27, 1958) is a United States Air Force General who is the 10th Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In this capacity, he is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the nation's second highest-ranking military officer, and the highest-ranking officer in the Air Force. He assumed his current assignment on July 31, 2015.

General Selva assuming command of Air Mobility Command

Selva is Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, D.C., a position he assumed on July 31, 2015. Prior to his current assignment General Selva was the U.S. Transportation Command, Scott AFB, Ill., where he was responsible for managing all global air, land and sea transportation.

Selva was born in Biloxi, Mississippi in 1958 and graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science in aeronautical engineering, and completed undergraduate pilot training at Reese AFB, Texas. He has held numerous staff positions and has commanded at the squadron, group, wing and headquarters levels.

He is also a graduate of Abilene Christian University, the Air Command and Staff College, and Auburn University. Selva is a command pilot with more than 3,100 hours in the C-5, C-17A, C-141B, C-37, KC-10, KC-135A and T-37. He has served in a number of leadership positions including as Commander of the 9th Air Refueling Squadron, 60th Operations Group, 62nd Airlift Wing, and 618th Air and Space Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center). He was promoted to four-star rank in November 2012 and assumed command of Air Mobility Command.

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Selva was mooted as President Barack Obama's nominee for Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in news reports the day before the nomination was to be made, on May 5, 2015. The report also named General Joseph Dunford, USMC, who was at the time serving as Commandant of the Marine Corps, to serve as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

• 1980 Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
• 1983 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
• 1984 Master of Science degree in management and human relations, Abilene Christian University, Abilene, Texas
• 1992 Distinguished graduate, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
• 1992 Master of Science degree in political science, Auburn University, Montgomery, Ala.
• 1996 National Defense Fellow, Secretary of Defense Strategic Studies Group, Rosslyn, Va.

• 1. June 1980 - July 1981, student, undergraduate pilot training, Reese AFB, Texas
• 2. July 1981 - December 1984, co-pilot and aircraft commander, 917th Air Refueling Squadron, Dyess AFB, Texas
• 3. January 1984 - December 1988, co-pilot, aircraft commander, instructor pilot, and flight commander, 32d Air Refueling Squadron, Barksdale AFB, La.
• 4. January 1989 - July 1991, company grade adviser to Commander, Strategic Air Command, later, manager of offensive aircraft systems and executive officer, Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Resources, Headquarters Strategic Air Command, Offutt AFB, Neb.
• 5. August 1991 - July 1992, student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
• 6. July 1992 - June 1994, instructor pilot and flight commander, 9th Air Refueling Squadron, later, Commander, 722d Operations Support Squadron, March AFB, Calif.
• 7. June 1994 - June 1995, Commander, 9th Air Refueling Squadron, later, Deputy Commander, 60th Operations Group, Travis AFB, Calif.
• 8. July 1995 - June 1996, National Defense Fellow, Secretary of Defense Strategic Studies Group, Rosslyn, Va.
• 9. July 1996 - August 1998, assistant to the Director, Office of the Secretary of Defense for Net Assessment, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
• 10. August 1998 - July 2000, Commander, 60th Operations Group, Travis AFB, Calif.
• 11. July 2000 - June 2002, Commander, 62d Airlift Wing, McChord AFB, Wash.
• 12. June 2002 - June 2003, Vice Commander, Tanker Airlift Control Center, Scott AFB, Ill.
• 13. June 2003 - November 2004, Commander, Tanker Airlift Control Center, Scott AFB, Ill.
• 14. December 2004 - August 2006, Director of Operations, U.S. Transportation Command, Scott AFB, Ill.
• 15. August 2006 - June 2007, Director, Air Force Strategic Planning, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
• 16. June 2007 - October 2008, Director, Air Force Strategic Planning, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, and Director, Air Force QDR, Office of the Vice Chief of Staff, Washington, D.C.
• 17. October 2008 - October 2011, Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, D.C.
• 18. October 2011 - November 2012, Vice Commander, Pacific Air Forces, Joint-Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
• 19. November 2012 - May 2014, Commander, Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill.
• 20. May 2014 - July 2015, Commander, U.S. Transportation Command, Scott AFB, Ill.
• 21. July 2015 – present, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, D.C.

• 1. September 1996 - August 1998, Assistant to the Director, Office of the Secretary of Defense for Net Assessment, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., as a lieutenant colonel
• 2. November 2004 - July 2006, Director of Operations and Logistics, U.S. Transportation Command, Scott AFB, Ill., as a brigadier general
• 3. October 2008 - October 2011, Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, D.C., as a lieutenant general
• 4. May 2014 - July 2015, Commander, U.S. Transportation Command, Scott AFB, Ill.
• 5. July 2015 – present, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, D.C.

Rating: Command pilot Hours flown: More than 3,100 Aircraft flown: C-5, C-17A, C-141B, C-37, KC-10, KC-135A and T-37

• Second Lieutenant May 28, 1980
• First Lieutenant May 28, 1982
• Captain May 28, 1984
• Major Jan. 1, 1990
• Lieutenant Colonel March 1, 1994
• Colonel Sept. 1, 1998
• Brigadier General Jan. 1, 2004
• Major General June 2, 2007
• Lieutenant General Oct. 8, 2008
• General Nov. 29, 2012

Selva is married to Ricki. They met while both were studying at the US Air Force Academy, and Ricki also served in the Air Force, which was acknowledged in Obama's announcement speech on May 5, 2015.

Selva achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America in 1974.