New Air Force Academy Commandant Is a Bomber Pilot and Lesbian Mom

Colonel Kristin Goodwin has been nominated to be the new commandant of cadets at the Air Force Academy. She has a sterling record as a bomber pilot and wing commander and, most recently, as senior military assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force. She also has a wife and two kids.

The Air Force Times tells us that Goodwin has also been nominated for appointment to the rank of brigadier general. She will take command of the USAF Academy upon Senate confirmation, and oversee the 4,000-member cadet wing and more than 300 Air Force and civilian support personnel.

Goodwin was the Air Force’s first female bomb wing commander, taking over the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, the nation’s oldest bomb unit, in 2014. She brought with her a string of accolades, including 41st Electronic Combat Squadron Pilot of the Year, 41st Electronic Combat Squadron Company Grade Officer of the Year, Daedalians Pilot of the Year, Air Force Association Aviator of the Year, 325th Bomb Squadron Mission Commander of the year, and 325th Bomb Squadron Instructor Pilot of the year, according to the Shreveport Times. She had flown the B-2 Stealth Bomber, our nation’s leading strategic bomber, before taking command of Barksdale’s wing and later moving to Washington, D.C. to serve as the senior military assistant to the secretary of the Air Force.

In March, President Trump nominated her to the rank of brigadier general.

She spoke with the Shreveport Times in 2014 about the “heartfelt, warm welcome” her family received at Barksdale, “not only from the base but also the community”—a sign of changing times, since the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy had only been repealed in 2011. She also talked about her role models in her family of origin:

That family taught me about service, they taught me about sacrifice, and they also taught me about being part of something that’s bigger than myself. I have to give that credit to my grandfathers, who both served in the Army during World War II, to my father who served 30 years in the Coast Guard. My mom, she served 20 years in the U.S. Air Force Reserve … she was in the medical field. My mother-in-law, she served as an Army civil servant, teaching soldiers in Germany. My father-in-law, he served as a Navy pilot. And my step-father, he currently (serves) as an Air Force officer at Hurlburt (Field). They’ve been my role models. They’ve been the embodiment of patriotism, and also have taught me what it means to sacrifice for our nation.

And she told of the support from her spouse and daughters:

I’m thankful for the unconditional love and support from Kelly and my two beautiful daughters. If any parent is out there, you guys know when you come home after a long, long work day, to see those smiles and the joys and those precious little moments you have with your children and also your loved one, you just cherish that. And I am truly blessed to have an amazing family.

Best wishes to Col. Goodwin and her amazing family during the next phase of their adventures.

(H/t Roger Sinasohn.)