Maj. Gen. Robert F. Behler is deputy commander, Joint Command North, NATO, Stavanger, Norway. Joint Command North is a tri-service NATO command that shares its headquarters facility with the Norwegian national military headquarters for the armed forces of southern Norway. The general assists the commander in directing all activities of the joint, combined NATO organization ensuring the security and territorial integrity of Norway and the alliance's most northern flank. The general also serves as the senior U.S. military officer in Scandinavia.

The general entered the Air Force in 1972 as a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the University of Oklahoma. He is a magna cum laude graduate of the College of Engineering where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in aerospace engineering. The general is also a distinguished graduate of undergraduate pilot training at Reese Air Force Base, Texas, and the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. He has commanded the 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron, the 9th Operations Group and the 9th Reconnaissance Wing. He is a command pilot with more than 5,000 flying hours in 65 types of aircraft, including the SR-71 and U-2.
 

EDUCATION:
 

1970 Bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman
1972 Master of science degree in aerospace engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman
1975 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
1982 Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
1985 National Security Management Course, by correspondence
1986 Air War College, by correspondence
1990 National Security Fellow, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
1991 Master of business administration degree, Marymount University, College Park, Md.
1991 Program for Senior Officials in National Security, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
2000 Executive Program for General Officers of the Russian Federation and the United States, Harvard University, Cambridge,
Mass.

ASSIGNMENTS:
 

1. May 1972 - April 1973, student, undergraduate pilot training, Reese Air Force Base, Texas
2. May 1973 - July 1976, C-9A instructor aircraft commander, 11th Aeromedical Airlift Squadron, Scott Air Force Base, Ill.
3. July 1976 - November 1980, student, and later, instructor, U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
4. November 1980 - July 1981, operations officer, Office of Advanced Manned Vehicles, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
5. July 1981 - February 1982, student, Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
6. February 1982 - June 1985, SR-71 aircraft commander, T-38 instructor pilot and operations officer, 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, Beale Air Force Base, Calif.
7. June 1985 - July 1986, SR-71 deputy commander for operations, Detachment 4, 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England.
8. July 1986 - June 1988, commander, 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
9. June 1988 - July 1990, assistant for strategic systems to the director of operational test and evaluation, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C.
10. July 1990 - July 1991, National Security Fellow, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
11. July 1991 - November 1991, special assistant to the director of operations, 9th Operations Group, Beale Air Force Base, Calif.

12. November 1991 - August 1993, commander, 9th Operations Group, Beale Air Force Base, Calif.
13. August 1993 - September 1995, chief, Senate Liaison Office, Secretary of the Air Force Office of Legislative Liaison,
Washington, D.C.
14. September 1995 - April 1997, commander, 9th Reconnaissance Wing, Beale Air Force Base, Calif.
15. April 1997 - August 1999, director for command, control, communications and computer systems, J-6, U.S. Strategic
Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
16. August 1999 - March 2000, chief of staff, Headquarters Allied Forces North Europe, NATO, Stavanger, Norway
17. March 2000 - present, deputy commander, Joint Command North, NATO, Stavanger, Norway

FLIGHT INFORMATION:

Rating: Command pilot
Flight hours: More than 5,000
Aircraft flown: A-37, C-9A, KC-135, SR-71, T-33, T-38, U-2 and UV-18

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS:

Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Achievement Medal
Air Force Recognition Ribbon
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with two service stars
Humanitarian Service Medal

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS:

Associate Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots
Order of Daedalians

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS:

Recipient, 15th Air Force Reconnaissance Crew of the Year
First recipient, General Jerome F. O'Malley Award for Best Reconnaissance Crew in the Air Force, Air Force Association

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION:

Second Lieutenant May 14, 1972
First Lieutenant May 14, 1974
Captain May 15, 1976
Major Nov 17, 1980
Lieutenant Colonel Mar 1, 1986
Colonel Oct 1, 1989
Brigadier General Sep 1, 1996
Major General Dec 1, 1999

(Current as of August 2000)