Air Force Association Announces David Deptula as the New Dean of Mitchell Institute

The Air Force Association proudly announces that David A. Deptula will join its staff as the Dean of the Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies. Deptula retired from the United States Air Force in October, 2010 at the rank of Lieutenant General and has continued to excel as a national security thought leader.

Deptula has significant experience in combat and leadership in several major joint contingency operations. He was the principal attack planner for the Desert Storm coalition air campaign in 1991. He has twice been a Joint Task Force Commander - in 1998/1999 for Operation Northern Watch during a period of renewed Iraqi aggression where he flew 82 combat missions, and for Operation Deep Freeze, supporting forces in Antarctica. In 2001, the general served as Director of the Combined Air Operations Center for Operation Enduring Freedom, where he orchestrated air operations over Afghanistan during the period of decisive combat. In 2005, he was the Joint Force Air Component Commander for Operation Unified Assistance, the South Asia tsunami relief effort, and in 2006 he was the standing Joint Force Air Component Commander for Pacific Command. In his final Service assignment, he served as the first Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR)—a position in which he was responsible to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force for policy formulation, planning, evaluation, oversight, and leadership of Air Force ISR and remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) capabilities.

The Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies is an independent, non-profit research, studies, and analysis organization founded by the Air Force Association. It takes its name from one of America’s most famous pioneering airman, Brigadier General William Mitchell—an innovative leader who embraced the nascent air domain in a quest to provide the Nation’s leaders with an array of enhanced policy options. The Institute hosts a variety of events with top defense leaders, publishes special reports, and sponsors emerging talent.

"In an effort to better educate the public on the need for robust aerospace power, AFA’s Mitchell Institute hosts defense seminars and expert-based discussions among the nation’s most creative and well-respected airpower thinkers,” said George Muellner, AFA Chairman of the Board. “We are excited to welcome Dave Deptula to our team as a top expert on national security issues.”

“I look forward to leading AFA’s Mitchell Institute in a quest to help the public, the policy community, and the Nation’s leaders better understand the key options airpower affords the nation,” said Dave Deptula, the new Dean of the Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies. “The pairing of an increasingly complex security environment with a decline in resources for defense, makes General Mitchell’s tradition of promoting innovation in exploiting the advantages of operating in the third dimension especially important today.”
For more information on upcoming events, publication releases, and announcements from the Mitchell Institute, visit http://www.afa.org/MitchellInstitute.