Michael Carey (United States Air Force officer)

Michael J. Carey
File:Michael J. Carey USAF 2013-11-15.JPG Major General Michael J. Carey, USAF
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1978–2014
Rank	Brigadier General retired as Brigadier General due to time-in-grade requirements.
Awards	Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit Air Force Commendation Medal Air Force Achievement Medal Defense Meritorious Service Medal Combat Readiness Medal Air Force Commendation Medal Joint Service Commendation Medal National Defense Service Medal Afghanistan Campaign Medal Humanitarian Service Medal NATO Medal

Michael J. Carey is a retired American military officer who served in the United States Air Force. On June 12, 2012, he assumed a dual command of the 20th Air Force (20 AF/CC) and Task Force (TF) 214, U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, which has effectively put him in charge of the U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) force of 450 nuclear missiles. In October 2013, he was reassigned as a special assistant to the commander of the U.S. Air Force Space Command Gen. William L. Shelton. Carey retired from the Air Force on June 1, 2014, after 35 years of service.

Career highlights

Carey enlisted in the Air Force in 1979. On April 29, 1983, he became a Second Lieutenant; on August 5, 1985 - First Lieutenant; on August 5, 1987 - Captain; on November 11, 1994 - Major; on January 1, 1998 - Lieutenant Colonel; on August 1, 2002 - Colonel; on November 14, 2008 - Brigadier General; and on November 2, 2011, he was promoted to Major General. His assignments included serving as Deputy Director, Global Operations, Global Operations Directorate, USSTRATCOM (March 2008 - August 2010); Chief, USSTRATCOM Forward Integration Team, Kabul, Afghanistan (June 2009 - August 2009); Deputy Director, Command, Control and Nuclear Operations (J3), Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. (August 2010 - June 2012), among others.

Moscow incident

On July 14–18, 2013, Carey took part in the work of the Bilateral Presidential Commission, Military Cooperation Working Group during the two-day U.S.-Russian Federation Nuclear Security Exercise 2013 in Sergeiv Posad, Moscow, Russia. He headed the Department of Defense delegation, which consisted of three commissioned officers and five civilian personnel from DOD. In October 2013, Carey was relieved of his command of the 20th Air Force and Task Force (TF) 214 by Lieutenant General James Kowalski, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, after an examination of Carey's behavior in Moscow conducted by the US Air Force Office of Special Investigations. A delegation member representing the Office of the Secretary of Defense with a first-hand knowledge of the incident, whose name was not revealed, triggered the investigation by reporting it to the superiors. Later, she told the investigators, "I realized that this was putting us all at risk, especially Russia and women, and I just wanted nothing to do with that".

The Washington Post wrote that Carey had drunk excessively and fraternized with foreign women during the visit. The New York Times claimed that Carey's behavior during the official meetings was not appropriate, including "interrupting speakers and correcting a Russian translator", and that he was over drinking during the visit, and once attempted to play with a restaurant band. Under the Freedom of Information Act, American journalists filed a request and received a redacted copy of the official Report of Investigations Concerning Major General Michael J. Carey. The report revealed that Carey's behavior was considered by his colleagues as rude toward the Russian hosts during the exercise and related briefings, especially, when he made comments about Syria and Snowden.

As a reprimand, Carey was given a "letter of counseling". He was relieved of his duties and assigned as a special assistant to the commander of the U.S. Air Force Space Command Gen. William L. Shelton, who issued a statement: "This was an unfortunate incident, Major General Carey has otherwise served the nation extremely well". On April 10, 2014, it was announced that Carey will retire on June 1, 2014, in the rank of brigadier general.

Education

• 1982 Bachelor of Arts degree in history, University of Central Florida, Orlando
• 1986 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
• 1988 Master of Public Administration degree, University of Oklahoma, Norman
• 1995 Air Command and Staff College (distinguished graduate), Maxwell AFB, Ala.
• 1998 Armed Forces Staff College, Joint and Combined Staff Officer School, Norfolk, Va.
• 1999 Air War College, by correspondence
• 2001 Master of Arts degree in national security and strategic studies (with distinction), Naval War College, Newport, R.I.
• 2005 National Security Fellow, Maxwell School, Syracuse University, N.Y.
• 2008 National Committee on U.S.-China Relations China Seminar, New York
• 2010 U.S.-Russia Course, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.

Awards

• Defense Superior Service Medal
• Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
• Defense Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
• Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
• Joint Service Commendation Medal
• Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
• Air Force Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters
• Joint Meritorious Unit Award with oak leaf cluster
• Combat Readiness Medal with oak leaf cluster
• National Defense Service Medal with bronze star
• Afghanistan Campaign Medal with bronze star
• Humanitarian Service Medal with bronze star
• NATO Medal (ISAF Afghanistan)

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "Major General Michael J Carey".