General Mark A. Welsh III (Ret) was the 20th Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. Born in San Antonio, Texas, Welsh graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1976 and led a distinguished 40-year career in the military.

Welsh flew more than 3,300 hours in the F-16, A-10, T-37 and TG-7A. As a combat pilot he was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses for missions flown in Desert Storm. General Welsh served as Commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and as the Associate Director for Military Affairs of the Central Intelligence Agency. He also served as the Commandant of the United States Air Force Academy. Named Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force in 2012, Welsh became the senior uniformed Air Force officer responsible for the organization, training and equipping of 660,000 active-duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian forces serving in the United States and overseas.

General Welsh retired from the Air Force in 2016 and went on to serve as Dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University.

“Leadership is a gift. It’s given by those who follow, but only if you’re worthy of it.” –Mark A. Welsh, III