Lt. Gen. William J. "Bill" Bender is the Chief, Information Dominance and Chief Information Officer, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. General Bender leads three directorates and supports 54,000 cyber operations and support personnel across the globe with a portfolio valued at $17 billion. He has overall responsibility of the Air Force’s Information Technology portfolio as the senior authority for Information Technology investment strategy, networks and network-centric policies, communications, information resources management, information assurance, and related matters for the Department of the Air Force. As Chief Information Officer, General Bender provides oversight of portfolio management, delivers enterprise architecture, and enforces freedom of information act and privacy act laws. He integrates Air Force warfighting and mission support capabilities by networking air, space, and terrestrial assets. Additionally, he shapes doctrine, strategy, and policy for all cyberspace operations and support activities. General Bender was commissioned in 1983 after earning a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Manhattan College. He has held staff assignments at Air Mobility Command, Headquarters U.S. European Command and Headquarters U.S. Air Force. His commands include an airlift squadron, an operations group, an air refueling wing, an airlift wing, and the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center. He has also served as Vice Commander of the 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force. Prior to his current assignment, he was the Deputy Chief, Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq. The general is a command pilot with more than 4,000 hours in the T-37, T-38, C/KC-135A/E/R, KC-10, EC-18B, E/KE-3A/B, C-141B, C-17A, C-130E and C-130J. EDUCATION 1983 Bachelor of Engineering degree (electrical), Manhattan College, N.Y. 1986 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 1989 Master of Arts degree in business administration, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Fla. 1995 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 1996 Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va. 1999 Air War College, by correspondence 2002 Master of Arts degree in national strategic studies, Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pa. 2005 Senior Leaders Executive Course, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. 2006 Senior Leaders Executive Course, Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, N.C. 2010 Senior Managers in Government Course, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. 2011 Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 2012 Combined Force Air Component Commander Course, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala. ASSIGNMENTS 1. December 1983 - November 1984, student, undergraduate pilot training, Vance AFB, Okla. 2. May 1985 - January 1989, KC-135 flight commander, Loring AFB, Maine 3. January 1989 - September 1992, wing executive officer, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio 4. September 1992 - August 1994, flight test assistant operations officer, Tinker AFB, Okla. 5. August 1994 - June 1995, student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 6. July 1995 - August 1997, joint staff officer, Current Operations (J33), Headquarters U.S. European Command, Stuttgart, Germany 7. August 1997 - February 2000, Operations Officer/Commander, 4th Airlift Squadron, McChord AFB, Wash. 8. February 2000 - July 2001, special assistant to the Commander, Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill. 9. July 2001 - June 2002, student, Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pa. 10. September 2002 - May 2004, Commander, 437th Operations Group, Charleston AFB, S.C. 11. May 2004 - March 2005, Vice Commander, 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force, McGuire AFB, N.J. 12. March 2005 - July 2006, Commander, 319th Air Refueling Wing, Grand Forks AFB, N.D. 13. July 2006 - December 2007, executive officer to the Deputy Commander, Headquarters U.S. European Command, Stuttgart, Germany 14. December 2007 - July 2009, Commander, 86th Airlift Wing, Ramstein AB, and Commander, Kaiserslautern Military Community, Germany 15. August 2009 - October 2010, Director, Warfighter Systems Integration, Office of Information Dominance and Chief Information Officer, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. 16. October 2010 - July 2013, Commander, U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. 17. July 2013 - September 2014, Deputy Chief, Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq 18. September 2014 - present, Chief, Information Dominance and Chief Information Officer, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS 1. July 1995 - July 1997, joint staff officer, Current Operations (J33), Headquarters U.S. European Command, Stuttgart, Germany, as a major 2. July 2006 - December 2007, executive officer to the Deputy Commander, Headquarters U.S. European Command, Stuttgart, Germany, as a colonel 3. July 2013 – September 2014, deputy chief, Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq, as a major general FLIGHT INFORMATION Rating: command pilot Flight hours: more than 4,000 Aircraft flown: T-37, T-38, C/KC-135A/E/R, KC-10, EC-18B, E/KE-3A/B, C-141B, C-17A, C-130E and C-130J MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS Distinguished Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters Defense Meritorious Service Medal Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters Aerial Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster Air Force Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION Second Lieutenant May 22, 1983 First Lieutenant May 22, 1985 Captain May 22, 1987 Major March 1, 1994 Lieutenant Colonel Jan. 1, 1998 Colonel Aug. 1, 2002 Brigadier General Sept. 26, 2008 Major General Oct. 14, 2011 Lieutenant General Sept. 19, 2014