| Margaret Woodward | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1960 |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch | United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1982–present |
| Rank | Major General |
| Commands held | 17th Air Force 89th Airlift Wing |
| Battles/wars | US invasion of Panama Operation Allied Force Operation Northern Watch Operation Southern Watch Operation Enduring Freedom Iraq War Operation Odyssey Dawn |
Margaret H. Woodward (born 1960) is a major general of the US Air Force.
As commander of the 17th Air Force and U.S. Air Forces Africa, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, she is responsible for all US air actions that involve Africa.[1] In March 2011, she commanded the air component of the US contribution to the no-fly zone over Libya, sanctioned by the United Nations, making her the first woman to oversee a US combat air campaign.[2]
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Woodward was born in 1960 and grew up in India and Pakistan, where her father worked for the United States Agency for International Development.[3] She left the region when she was about ten years old.[3] In 1982, she graduated from the Arizona State University and joined the US Air Force the year after.[1][3] For most of her career she flew aerial refueling aircraft such as the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker,[3] though she also has experience in the Boeing C-40 Clipper, the C-37 military version of the Gulfstream G550, and the T-37 and T-38 trainers.[1] She was involved the US invasion of Panama, Operation Allied Force, Operations Northern and Southern Watch, Operation Enduring Freedom and missions during the Iraq War.[1][3]
In 2007, she became commander of the 89th Airlift Wing, which includes responsibility for Air Force One, and in June 2010 became commander of the Seventeenth Air Force, the Air Force branch of the United States Africa Command.[1][3] As such, she was the operational commander for the US involvement in the 2011 Libyan no-fly zone, dubbed Operation Odyssey Dawn,[3] before command of the whole operation was transferred to NATO.
List of promotions Woodward has received during her career:[1]
| Major General | 2011 |
| Brigadier General | 2008 |
| Colonel | 2002 |
| Lieutenant Colonel | 1998 |
| Major | 1994 |
| Captain | 1986 |
| First Lieutenant | 1984 |
| Second Lieutenant | 1982 |