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Joseph L. Lengyel
Joseph L. Lengyel
	Official portrait, 2016
Born	1959 (age 64–65); Northeastern United States
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Air Force Air National Guard; ;
Years of service	1981–2020
Rank	General
Commands	National Guard Bureau; Air National Guard Readiness Center; 455th Expeditionary Operations Group; 149th Operations Group; 182d Fighter Squadron
Battles/wars	War in Afghanistan
Awards	Defense Distinguished Service Medal; Defense Superior Service Medal; Legion of Merit (3); Bronze Star Medal

Joseph Lauren Lengyel (born 1959) is a retired United States Air Force four-star general who last served as the 28th chief of the National Guard Bureau from August 2016 to August 2020. As chief, he was responsible for ensuring that nearly 460,000 Army National Guard and Air National Guard personnel are accessible, capable and ready to protect the homeland and to provide combat capabilities to the United States Army and the United States Air Force. Lengyel is a command pilot with more than 3,000 flying hours primarily in the F-16.

Prior to his last assignment, Lengyel served as the 10th vice chief of the National Guard Bureau. His previous general officer assignments include Senior United States Defense Official; Chief, Office of Military Cooperation; and Defense Attaché, Cairo, United States Central Command, Cairo, Egypt. He retired from the Air Force on August 3, 2020, after over 38 years of service.

Early life

Joseph Lauren Lengyel is the son of Lauren and Margaret Lengyel. His father was a career Air Force officer and Vietnam War veteran who was held as a prisoner of war; he received the Silver Star and retired a lieutenant colonel.^[2] Lengyel has two brothers and a sister; one of his brothers, Gregory J. Lengyel,^[3] is a retired major general and was a career Air Force special operations officer.^[2] Lengyel was commissioned into the United States Air Force in 1981 through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program at North Texas State University.

Military career

Lengyel served in various operational and staff assignments, primarily as an Instructor Pilot and unit Weapons Officer in the F-16 Fighting Falcon. His experience in the F-16 includes tours in Tactical Air Command, Air Combat Command, Pacific Air Forces, United States Air Forces in Europe and the Texas Air National Guard. He has commanded a fighter squadron, operations group, air expeditionary group and the Air National Guard Readiness Center.

Education

1981 Bachelor's degree in chemistry, University of North Texas
1984 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
1988 Air Force Fighter Weapons Instructor Course, Nellis AFB, Nevada
1994 Air Command and Staff College, by seminar
2001 Air War College, by correspondence
2008 National Security Management Course, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, N.Y.
2009 Capstone General and Flag Officer Course, National Defense University, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
2010 Combined Force Air Component Commander Course, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
2010 Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government, Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security, Cambridge, Mass.
2011 University of Tennessee, Master of Business Administration

Assignments

March 1982 – March 1983, Student, undergraduate pilot training, 47th Flying Training Wing, Laughlin AFB, Texas
March 1983 – May 1983, Student, fighter lead-in training, 479th Tactical Training Wing, Holloman AFB, New Mexico
May 1983 – January 1984, Student, F-16 upgrade training, 56th Tactical Training Wing, MacDill AFB, Florida.
January 1984 – April 1986, Instructor Pilot, 474th Tactical Fighter Wing, Nellis AFB, Nevada
April 1986 – April 1987, Instructor Pilot Flight Examiner, 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, Kunsan Air Base, South Korea
April 1987 – June 1987, F-16C conversion training, 405th Tactical Training Wing, Luke AFB, Arizona
June 1987 – September 1991, Instructor Pilot, and Chief of Weapons, 512th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany
September 1991 – September 1995, Instructor Pilot Flight Examiner and Weapons Officer, 182nd Fighter Squadron, Texas Air National Guard, Kelly AFB, Texas
September 1996 – June 1997, Commander, 149th Operations Support Flight, 149th Operations Group, Kelly AFB, Texas
June 1997 – October 1998, Operations Officer, 182nd Fighter Squadron, Kelly AFB, Texas
October 1998 – October 1999, Commander, 182nd Fighter Squadron, Kelly AFB, Texas
October 1999 – February 2002, Commander, 149th Operations Group, Lackland AFB / Kelly Field Annex, Texas
February 2002 – June 2004, Vice Commander, 149th Fighter Wing, Lackland AFB, Texas
June 2004 – September 2004, Commander, 455th Expeditionary Operations Group, Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan
September 2004 – September 2006, Air National Guard Advisor to Commander, United States Air Force in Europe
September 2006 – September 2008, Commander, Air National Guard Readiness Center, Andrews AFB, Maryland
September 2008 – June, 2009, Deputy Director, Air National Guard, Arlington, Virginia, and Commander, Air National Guard Readiness Center, Andrews AFB, Md.
June 2009 – July 2010, Military Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
July 2010 – June 2011, Vice Commander, 1st Air Force (Air Forces Northern), Tyndall AFB, Florida
June 2011 – August 2012, Senior U.S. Defense Official; Chief, Office of Military Cooperation and Defense Attaché, Cairo, U.S. Central Command, Cairo, Egypt
August 2012 – August 2016, Vice Chief, National Guard Bureau, Washington, D.C.
August 2016 – August 2020, Chief, National Guard Bureau, Washington, D.C.

Flight information

Rating: Command Pilot
Flight hours: more than 3,000
Aircraft flown: T-37, T-38 and F-16

Awards and decorations

	US Air Force Command Pilot Badge
	Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge
	National Guard Bureau Organizational Badge

	Defense Distinguished Service Medal
	Defense Superior Service Medal
	Legion of Merit with two bronze oak leaf clusters
	Bronze Star Medal
	Meritorious Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster
	Air Medal
	Aerial Achievement Medal
	Air Force Commendation Medal with three bronze oak leaf clusters
	Joint Service Achievement Medal
	Air Force Achievement Medal
	Joint Meritorious Unit Award^[4]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with one bronze oak leaf cluster
	Combat Readiness Medal with three bronze oak leaf clusters
	National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star
	Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
	Afghanistan Campaign Medal with one bronze service star
	Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
	Korea Defense Service Medal
	Air Force Overseas Short Tour Service Ribbon
	Air Force Overseas Long Tour Service Ribbon with one bronze oak leaf cluster
	Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with gold frame
	Air Force Longevity Service Award with one silver and three bronze oak leaf clusters
	Armed Forces Reserve Medal with silver Hourglass device
	Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon with one bronze service star
	Air Force Training Ribbon

Other achievements

1983 Distinguished graduate, undergraduate pilot training
2009 Maj. Gen. I.G. Brown Command Excellence Award
Multiple civilian pilot ratings, including Airline Transport Pilot

Effective dates of promotion

Second Lieutenant Dec. 21, 1981
First Lieutenant Dec. 21, 1983
Captain Dec. 21, 1985
Major Dec. 13, 1994
Lieutenant Colonel Dec. 23, 1998
Colonel Sept. 18, 2002
Brigadier General Sept. 26, 2008
Major General April 1, 2011
Lieutenant General Aug. 18, 2012
General Aug. 3, 2016