Jay B. Silveria


Jay B. Silveria is the twentieth Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy. His previous commands include serving as a Deputy Commander of the United States Air Forces Central Command, Commander of the United States Air Force Warfare Center, and Vice Commander of 48th Fighter Wing. He is qualified as a pilot in command with approximately 4,000 hours in a cockpit. Silveria, called one of the United States Air Force's most experienced pilots, has flown combat missions over Iraq and the Balkans.

Education

Silveria received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1985. In 1997, he received a Master of Social Science degree from Syracuse University, in Syracuse, New York. He later attended the National War College at Fort Lesley J. McNair, in Washington, D.C., and graduated in 2005.

Military career

Throughout his military career, Silveria has held a number of positions in the air force as a pilot and in a command role. He was promoted to first lieutenant in May 1987, and then Captain in 1989. He was an instructor pilot at Williams Air Force Base in the late 1980s where he flew Cessna T-37 aircraft for the 96th Flying Training Squadron. At the time, Cessna T-37s were a primary training aircraft for the Air Force. Between 1991 and 1995, he served at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base where he flew F-15E Strike Eagles for the 334th Fighter Squadron, completing multiple deployments during Operation SOUTHERN WATCH. Along with a promotion to major in 1997, Silveria assumed the position of aide-de-camp to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe and commander, United States European Command, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, in Mons, Belgium. He would hold this position until July 1999.