Erik A. Peterson is a Brigadier General in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

and the Deputy Adjutant General for Air of the Wisconsin National Guard.

Career

Erik A. Peterson was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Air Force in 1991. He underwent further training with the 97th Flying Training Squadron before being stationed at

Luke Air Force Base Luke Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States., effective 20 December 2007 It is located west of the central business district of Glendale, Arizona, Glendale, and west of Phoenix, Arizona, P ...

. For part of his time at Luke, Peterson was assigned to the 310th Fighter Squadron. Afterward, Peterson was an

F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...

training officer with the

18th Fighter Squadron 018 may refer to: *Air Canada Flight 018, an airline flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver, Canada, illegally boarded by a Chinese man wearing a disguise in 2010 *Area code 018, a telephone area code in Uppsala, Sweden *BMW 018, an experimental turboj ...

and instructor with the 34th Fighter Squadron. In 2001, he joined the Wisconsin Air National Guard and was assigned to the

176th Fighter Squadron The 176th Fighter Squadron (176 FS) is a unit of the Wisconsin Air National Guard 115th Fighter Wing located at Truax Field Air National Guard Base, Madison, Wisconsin. As of 2023, the 176th is currently converting to the Lockheed Martin F-35A ...

, eventually being its Commanding Officer. Peterson's ensuing roles included assuming command of the 115th Operations Group and the 115th Fighter Wing. In 2020, he was named as the Chief of Staff of the Wisconsin Air National Guard. Later, Peterson was appointed as Deputy Adjutant General on an interim basis. Decorations Peters has received include the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

with two

oak leaf clusters An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a spec ...

, the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: Singapore *Pingat Jasa Gemilang, or Meritorious Services Me ...

with three oak leaf clusters, the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

with oak leaf cluster and the

Air Force Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

with two oak leaf clusters.

Education

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 ...

Squadron Officer School Squadron Officer School (SOS), is a 5.5-week-long Professional Military Education (PME) course for U.S. Air Force and Space Force Captains, Department of the Air Force Civilian (DAFC) equivalents and International Officers. It fulfills the ...

* Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University *

USAF Air War College The Air War College (AWC) is the senior Professional Military Education (PME) school of the U.S. Air Force. A part of the United States Air Force's Air University, AWC emphasizes the employment of air, space, and cyberspace in joint operati ...

Joint Forces Staff College The Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), located in Norfolk, Virginia, was established as the Armed Forces Staff College in 1946 and incorporated into the National Defense University in August 1981. It educates and acculturates joint and multinat ...

National Defense University National Defence (or Defense) University (or College) may refer to: :''Alphabetical by country'' University * Marshal Fahim National Defense University, Afghanistan * National Defense University (Azerbaijan) * People's Liberation Army National Defe ...

References

Wisconsin National Guard personnel National Guard (United States) generals United States Air Force generals Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal United States Air Force Academy alumni Squadron Officer School alumni Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University alumni Air Command and Staff College alumni Air War College alumni Joint Forces Staff College alumni Living people {{Military-bio-stub