Matthew Wolfe Davidson is a

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 ...

major general who serves as the commander of the

Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defended ...

. He previously served as the deputy director of the

Defense Threat Reduction Agency The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is both a defense agency and a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense (DoD) for countering weapons of mass destruction (WMD; chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear ...

from 2023 to 2024. Davidson is a 1993 graduate from

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

Reserve Officer Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

program. He is a career Special Tactics Officer and has led special operations forces during operations Provide Comfort II, Assured Response, Joint Endeavor, Enduring Freedom – Philippines, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. He commanded at the squadron, group and wing levels and led joint operations as the Chief of Staff for Special Operations Command Central. Prior to assuming his current assignment, Davidson served as the Executive Officer to the Air Force Chief of Staff.

Education

* 1993 Bachelor of Science, Geography, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater * 1999 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama * 2004 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence * 2004 Master of Science, International Relations, Troy State University, Alabama * 2005 Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas * 2006 Master of Military Art and Science, School of Advanced Military Studies, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas * 2007 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence * 2012 Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C. * 2014 Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk Naval Station, Va.

Military career

Davidson served as the deputy commander of the

Air Force Special Operations Command Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida, is the special operations component of the United States Air Force. An Air Force major command (MAJCOM), AFSOC is also the U.S. Air Force component command ...

. He also served as the director for operations of the

, as deputy commander of the Special Operations Joint Task Force – Afghanistan, and once served as deputy commander of the

Combined Force Space Component Command The Combined Force Space Component Command (CFSCC) was a U.S.-led multinational subordinate command of United States Space Command. It was responsible for tactical control of American and multinational space forces. The CFSCC's mission was to "pla ...

of the

United States Space Command United States Space Command (USSPACECOM or SPACECOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Department of Defense, responsible for military operations in outer space, specifically all operations 100 kilometers (62 miles) and greater ...

and vice commander of the

Space Operations Command Space Operations Command (SpOC) is the United States Space Force's space warfare, space operations, cyber warfare, cyber operations, and military intelligence, intelligence field command. Headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado ...

United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space force branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces, armed forces of the United States and one of the eight uniformed services of the Unite ...

. He was also previously assigned as executive officer to the

Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force The chief of staff of the Air Force ( acronym: CSAF, or AF/CC) is the service chief of the United States Air Force. They are the principal military advisor to the secretary of the Air Force on matter pertaining to the Air Force. They are a m ...

from June 2016 to April 2018. He was replaced by

Michael E. Conley Michael Edward Conley is a United States Air Force Lieutenant general (United States), lieutenant general who has served as the commander of Air Force Special Operations Command since 2 July 2024. Conley most recently served as the director of o ...

in June 2015.

Assignments

* January 1994–December 1994, Special Tactics Training Pipeline * December 1994–August 1997, flight commander, 23rd Special Tactics Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Florida * August 1997–August 1998, assistant director of Operations, 720th Special Tactics Group, Hurlburt Field, Florida * August 1998–January 2002, flight commander, 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina * January 2002–May 2003, director of operations, 320th Special Tactics Squadron, Kadena Air Base, Japan * May 2003–June 2004, commander, 320th Special Tactics Squadron, Kadena AB, Japan * June 2004–June 2005, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas * June 2005–June 2006, School of Advanced Military Studies, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas * June 2006–June 2008, Air and Space Strategist, headquarters Air Force, Project CHECKMATE, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia * June 2008–June 2009, deputy commander, 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope AFB, North Carolina * June 2009–April 2011, commander, 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope AFB, North Carolina * April 2011–June 2012, commander, 724th Special Tactics Group, Pope Army Field, North Carolina * June 2012–June 2013, Fellow, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C. * June 2013–June 2014, chief of staff, Special Operations Command Central Forward headquarters, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar * September 2014–June 2016, commander, 24th Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Fla. * June 2016–April 2018, Executive Officer to the Air Force Chief of Staff, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia * April 2018–August 2019, vice commander, 14th Air Force, Vandenberg AFB, Calif. * 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, California * 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, California * April 2020–August 2022, Director of Operations, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Fla. * August 2022–June 2023, Deputy Commander, AFSOC, Hurlburt Field, Fla. * July 2023–July 2024, Deputy Director, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Fort Belvoir, Va.

Awards and decorations

Effective dates of promotion

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Matthew Wolfe Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Space Operations Command personnel United States Air Force generals Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Brigadier generals Oklahoma State University alumni