Lt. Gen. Charles Green became the Air Force’s 20th surgeon general Wednesday during a swearing-in ceremony at the Pentagon presided over by Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz. Green, who has been the deputy surgeon general since August 2006, replaces Lt. Gen. James Roudebush, who formally retires on Oct. 1. Green was nominated for the position in April and received Senate confirmation in May. Green entered active duty in 1978 after completing his doctorate of medicine degree at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. He holds a rating of chief flight surgeon and has amassed 1,200 flight hours. (Air Force release).
Airmen basic rarely go on to become four-star generals, but one who did retired last week after a 42 year career that saw him rise from a lowly slick-sleeve to the head of one of the Air Force’s most important major commands.