Gary North served as the Commander of U.S. Air Forces Central from 2006-2009 where he
was responsible for all Air Force operations in the Middle East. He served as the Combined
Forces Air Component Commander for U.S. Central Command for the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan, and from 2004-2006 as the Director of Operations for U.S. Pacific Command.
He is a command pilot with more than 4,700 flying hours, primarily in the F-16, F-15C and the
F4G. Mr. North is a graduate of the Air Force F-16 Fighter Weapons School and flew 83
combat missions in Operations Desert Storm, Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring
Freedom.
Mr. North graduated from East Carolina University with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science,
Golden Gate University with master’s degrees in Public Administration and Human Resource
Management, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University with
a master’s degree in National Resource Strategy.