Charles Cread Baldwin (born April 7, 1947) is a former

Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force The Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force (HAF/HC) is the senior chaplain in the United States Air Force, the functional leader of the United States Air Force Chaplain Corps, and the senior advisor on religious issues to the Secret ...

Biography

A native of

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, Baldwin is an ordained

Southern Baptist The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestantism in the United States, Pr ...

pastor. He is a graduate of the

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at first housed on the campus of Furman University. The s ...

. Baldwin is married to Anne, with whom he has three children and nine grandchildren. Baldwin was the first, and to date the only Air Force Chief of Chaplains who had been a rated air force pilot.

Career

Baldwin graduated from

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...

in 1969. He would go on to serve in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

and the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. Baldwin served as an Air Force pilot before attending seminary and changing career fields to chaplain. He flew the

EC-121 Warning Star The Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star is an American airborne early warning and control radar surveillance aircraft operational in the 1950s in both the United States Navy (USN) and United States Air Force (USAF). The military version of the Lock ...

, then later, the HH-53 "Super Jolly" as a rescue helicopter pilot. Other assignments he held include serving at Headquarters,

United States Air Forces in Europe United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

and

North American Aerospace Defense Command North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ; , CDAAN), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a Combined operations, combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air ...

. Baldwin served as

Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force The Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force is the second senior-most Military chaplain, chaplain in the United States Air Force]Chaplain Corps holding the rank of brigadier general, and acting as principal deputy to the Chief of ...

from 2001 to 2004, when he became Chief of Chaplains with the rank of Major general (United States), major general. His retirement was effective as of July 1, 2008.

Awards and military decorations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin, Charles 1947 births Living people Military personnel from New Haven, Connecticut United States Air Force generals Chiefs of Chaplains of the United States Air Force Southern Baptist ministers Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War United States Air Force personnel of the Gulf War United States Air Force Academy alumni Southern Baptist Theological Seminary alumni Vietnam War chaplains Gulf War chaplains Deputy chiefs of Chaplains of the United States Air Force 20th-century American clergy