Robin Rand (born 1956) is a retired United States Air Forcegeneral and former commander of Air Force Global Strike Command.[1] He also concurrently served as the commander of Air Forces Strategic, United States Strategic Command, a command that provides combat-ready forces to conduct strategic nuclear deterrence and global strike operations in support of combatant commanders.[2] Rand's post made him responsible for the United States' three intercontinental ballistic missile wings, the two B-52 wings, and the only B-2 wing with two B-1 wings and a weapon's storage complex to be added in FY16, approximately one-third of the nation's nuclear deterrent.[3]
Rand is a son of Philip Allen Rand, an Air Force colonel who was an airport director in Klamath Falls, Oregon.[4] Rand lived in Klamath Falls for a period in the 1960s,[1] before attending General William Mitchell High School in Colorado,[5] and was commissioned in 1979 after graduating from the United States Air Force Academy.
Rand formerly served as the commander of Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. He was responsible for the recruiting, training and education of Air Force personnel. His command included the Air Force Recruiting Service, a numbered air force, and Air University. AETC trains more than 293,000 students per year across 12 bases, with more than 67,900 active-duty, Reserve, Guard, civilians and contractors, and 1,369 trainer, fighter, and mobility aircraft.[6] Rand was nominated for appointment to the grade of general on June 28, 2013,[7] and confirmed by the Senate on August 1, 2013.[8] Rand assumed command of AETC from General Edward A. Rice on October 10, 2013.[9] In early 2015, Rand was nominated and confirmed by the Senate to serve as the first four star commander of the Global Strike Command.[10][11] He assumed command of Global Strike Command on July 28, 2015, and of Air Forces Strategic Air Command on September 30, 2017. Rand retired effective September 1, 2018.[12]
Rand was a command pilot with more than 5,000 flying hours, including more than 470 combat hours. He has primarily flown the F-16, T-38, and T-37.
January 1990 – April 1990, F-16 pilot, USAF Fighter Weapons Instructor Course, Nellis Air Force Base.
April 1990 – July 1992, F-16 weapons officer, 13th Fighter Squadron; and weapons and tactics flight commander, 432nd Operations Support Squadron, Misawa Air Base, Japan.
August 1992 – September 1994, F-16 operations officer, USAF Weapons School, Nellis Air Force Base.
September 1994 – July 1997, operations officer and Commander, 36th Fighter Squadron, Osan Air Base, South Korea.
August 1997 – June 1998, student, Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island.
June 2004 – June 2006, Commander, 56th Fighter Wing, Luke Air Force Base.
July 2006 – July 2007, Commander, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, Balad Air Base, Iraq (Joint assignment).
August 2007 – August 2009, Principal Director for Middle East Policy, Office of the Secretary of Defense, The Pentagon, Washington, D.C. (Joint assignment)
September 2017 – September 2018, Commander, Air Force Global Strike Command, and Commander, Air Forces Strategic, U.S. Strategic Command, Barksdale Air Force Base.
