Maj. Gen. Matthew Wolfe Davidson is the Commander, Second Air Force, Keesler Air Force Base (AFB), Miss. He is responsible for the development, oversight, and direction of all operational aspects of basic military training, initial skills training, advanced and supplemental non-flying training for 93 percent of the Air Force across 265 specialties. Second Air Force delivers over 2,700 courses and graduates 150,000 Airmen, Guardians, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and international students annually. The command includes five training wings at Keesler AFB; Sheppard and Goodfellow AFBs; Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas; and a network of 103 operating locations around the world.
General Davidson is a 1993 graduate of Oklahoma State University’s Reserve Officer Training Corps program. He is a career Special Tactics Officer and has led air, space and special operations forces during operations Provide Comfort II, Assured Response, Joint Endeavor, Enduring Freedom, Enduring Freedom Philippines, Iraqi Freedom and Freedom’s Sentinel. He commanded at the squadron, group and wing levels, led joint operations as the Deputy Commanding General for Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan, and led U.S. Space Command operations as the Deputy Combined Force Space Component Commander and Vice Commander. He was also the Deputy Commander for Air Force Special Operations Command. Prior to his current assignment, he was the Deputy Director for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
EDUCATION
1993 Bachelor of Science, Geography, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Okla.
2004 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., by correspondence
2004 Master of Science, International Relations, Troy State University, Ala.
2005 Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
2006 Master of Military Art and Science, School of Advanced Military Studies, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
2007 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2010 Master of Science, Strategic Studies, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2012 Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C.
2014 Joint Forces Staff College, Naval Station Norfolk, Va.
2018 Senior Leader Orientation Course, Joint Base Andrews, Md.
2018 Space Operations Executive Course, Peterson AFB, Colo.
2019 National and International Security Leadership Seminar, Washington, D.C.
2019 Enterprise Leadership Seminar, Chapel Hill, N.C.
2021 Advanced Senior Leader Development Seminar, Warrenton, Va.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. January 1994–December 1994, Special Tactics Training, various temporary duty locations
2. December 1994–August 1997, Flight Commander, 23rd Special Tactics Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
3. August 1997–August 1998, Assistant Director of Operations, 720th Special Tactics Group, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
4. August 1998–January 2002, Flight Commander, 24th STG, Pope Air Force Base, N.C.
5. January 2002–May 2003, Director of Operations, 320th STG, Kadena Air Base, Japan
6. May 2003–Jun 2004, Commander, 320th STS, Kadena AB, Japan
7. June 2004–June 2005, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
8. June 2005–June 2006, School of Advanced Military Studies, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
9. June 2006–June 2008, Air and Space Strategist, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Project Checkmate, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
10. June 2008–June 2009, Deputy Commander, 24th STG, Pope AFB, N.C.
11. June 2009–April 2011, Commander, 24th STG, Pope AFB, N.C.
12. April 2011–June 2012, Commander, 724th STG, Pope Field, N.C.
13. June 2012–June 2013, Fellow, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C.
14. June 2013–June 2014, Chief of Staff, Special Operations Command Central Forward Headquarters, Al Udeid AB, Qatar
15. September 2014–June 2016, Commander, 24th Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
16. June 2016–April 2018, Executive Officer to the Air Force Chief of Staff, HAF, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
17. April 2018–August 2019, Vice Commander, 14th Air Force, Vandenberg AFB, Calif. 18. August 2019–December 2019, Deputy Combined Force Space Component Commander, U.S. Space Command, and Vice Commander, 14th Air Force, Air Force Space Command, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
19. December 2019– April 2020, Deputy Combined Force Space Component Commander, U.S. Space Command, and Vice Commander, Space Operations Command, U.S. Space Force, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
20. April 2020–April 2021, Deputy Commanding General, NATO Special Operations Component Command- Afghanistan/Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan
21. April 2021–August 2022, Director of Operations, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
22. August 2022–July 2023, Deputy Commander, AFSOC, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
23. July 2023–July 2024, Deputy Director, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Fort Belvoir, Va.
24. July 2024-Present, Commander, Second Air Force, Keesler AFB, Miss.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 2013–June 2014, Chief of Staff, Special Operations Command Central Forward Headquarters, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, as a colonel
2. August 2019–April 2020, Deputy Combined Force Space Component Commander, U.S. Space Command, and Vice Commander, Space Operations Command, U.S. Space Force, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., as a brigadier general
3. April 2020–April 2021, Deputy Commanding General, NATO Special Operations Component Command- Afghanistan/Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan, as a brigadier general
4. July 2023–July 2024, Deputy Director, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Fort Belvoir, Va., as a major general
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal with combat device and two oak leaf clusters
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Bronze Star Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster