Arthur Lichte

Arthur James Lichte (born April 20, 1949) is a former four-star general in the United States Air Force, retroactively retired in the grade of major general.

Education Lichte was born in The Bronx, New York, where he graduated from Cardinal Spellman High School. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Manhattan College, New York City, in 1971 and his master's degree in systems management from University of Southern California in 1978. He attended Squadron Officer School at Maxwell AFB in Alabama in 1978 and the National War College at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, D.C. in 1989.

In 1994 Lichte attended the Program for Senior Officials in National Security at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 2002 he attended the Revolutions in Business Affairs, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California.

Career Lichte entered the United States Air Force in 1971 as a distinguished graduate of Manhattan College's Air Force ROTC program. During his Air Force career, Lichte held command positions at squadron, group and wing levels. He is a command pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours in various aircraft, including the C-17, C-20, C-21, C-32, C-37, C-130, EC/RC-121, KC-10, KC-135, UH-1N and VC-137. In addition to his command experience, Lichte held headquarters-level assignments at Strategic Air Command, Air Mobility Command, and United States Transportation Command.

Lichte served as Assistant Vice Chief of Staff and Director, Air Force Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C., where he was responsible for Air Staff organization and administration, served as Deputy Chairman of the Air Force Council, and was the Air Force accreditation official for the Corps of Air Attachés.

Lichte's last military assignment was as the commander of Air Mobility Command based in Scott Air Force Base, Illinois from September 2007 to November 20, 2009. Air Mobility Command's mission is to provide rapid, global mobility and sustainment for America's armed forces. The command also plays a crucial role in providing humanitarian support at home and around the world. The men and women of AMC – active duty, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve and civilians – provide airlift, aerial refueling, special air mission and aeromedical evacuation for all of America's armed forces.

Lichte retired from the Air Force on January 1, 2010, with over 38 years of military service.

On April 23, 2010, Airbus announced Lichte had joined the board of EADS North America.

Sexual assault allegations In August 2016, Stars & Stripes revealed that Lichte was the subject of a sexual assault investigation being conducted by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations based on claims by one of his former female subordinates. The case was initially reported by John Q. Public, an independent blog that focuses on the Air Force. The blog said it had obtained an internal Air Force document that described a complaint filed earlier this year by a female colonel that her commander had “used his power to coerce sexual contact” three times between April 2007 and April 2009. The report said the senior officer at one point led Air Mobility Command, which has headquarters at Scott Air Force Base, which is about 20 miles east of St. Louis in Illinois. Linda Card, a spokeswoman for the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations, confirmed the investigation of the allegations against Lichte but would not comment further or provide additional details about the case. On completion of the investigation, Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James, issued a letter of reprimand and initiated a board determination of what grade General Lichte had satisfactorily served in prior to his retirement. On 1 February 2017, it was announced that Lichte was retroactively retired in the grade of major general.

Assignments October 1971 – October 1972, student, undergraduate pilot training, Sheppard AFB, Texas October 1972 – May 1975, EC-121 pilot, 552nd Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing, McClellan AFB, California May 1975 – July 1981, co-pilot, aircraft commander, flight commander, standardization and evaluation aircraft commander, later, KC-135 training flight instructor pilot, 380th Air Refueling Squadron, Plattsburgh AFB, New York July 1981 – July 1985, Assistant Chief, Tanker Resource Management Team; Chief, Tanker Career Management Section; Chief, Operations-Maintenance Squadron Commander Management Branch; Chief, Special Assignments Activity Branch; later, Chief, Selective Assignments Activity Branch, Headquarters SAC, Offutt AFB, Nebraska July 1985 – August 1988, KC-10A flight commander, later, operations officer, later, Commander, 9th Air Refueling Squadron, March AFB, California August 1988 – June 1989, student, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. June 1989 – January 1990, Deputy Chief, Strategic Forces Division, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. January 1990 – June 1991, executive officer, Deputy Chief of Staff for Programs and Resources, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. June 1991 – April 1992, Assistant Deputy Commander for Operations, 2nd Bombardment Wing, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana April 1992 – July 1993, commander of 458th Operations Group, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana July 1993 – July 1995, executive officer to the Commander, USTRANSCOM, and to the Commander, AMC, Scott AFB, Illinois August 1995 – November 1996, Commander, 92nd Air Refueling Wing, Fairchild AFB, Washington November 1996 – January 1999, commander of 89th Airlift Wing, Andrews AFB, Maryland January 1999 – April 2000, Director of Global Reach Programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. April 2000 – December 2002, director of plans and programs, Headquarters AMC, Scott AFB, Ill. December 2002 – June 2005, Vice Commander, USAFE, Ramstein AB, Germany July 2005 – August 2007, Assistant Vice Chief of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. September 2007 – November 2009, Commander, Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill.

Flight information Rating: Command pilot Flight hours: Over 9,000 Aircraft flown: C-17, C-20, C-21, C-32, C-37, C-130, EC/RC-121, KC-10, KC-135, UH-1N, VC-137

Awards and decorations

Order of the Sword, Air Mobility Command.

Effective dates of promotion/demotion Second Lieutenant May 23, 1971 First Lieutenant April 3, 1973 Captain October 3, 1975 Major August 1, 1983 Lieutenant Colonel March 1, 1986 Colonel December 1, 1991 Brigadier General April 1, 1996 Major General July 1, 1999 Lieutenant General January 1, 2003 General September 7, 2007 Major General (retired list) February 1, 2017