Margaret H. Woodward (born 1960) is an American former military officer and major general in the United States Air Force.
As commander of the 17th Air Force and U.S. Air Forces Africa, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, she was responsible for all US air actions that involved Africa.[1] In March 2011, she commanded the air component of the US contribution to the no-fly zone over Libya, sanctioned by the United Nations, making her the first woman to oversee a U.S. combat air campaign.[2]
She retired on April 1, 2014.
Woodward was born in 1960 and grew up in India and Pakistan, where her father worked for the United States Agency for International Development.[3] She left the region when she was about ten years old.[3]
In 1982, Woodward graduated from the Arizona State University and joined the U.S. Air Force the year after.[1][3] For most of her career she flew aerial refueling aircraft such as the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker,[3] though she also has experience in the Boeing C-40 Clipper, the C-37 military version of the Gulfstream G550, and the T-37 and T-38 trainers.[1] She was involved the U.S. invasion of Panama, Operation Allied Force, Operations Northern and Southern Watch, Operation Enduring Freedom and missions during the Iraq War.[1][3]
In 2007, she became commander of the 89th Airlift Wing, which includes responsibility for Air Force One, and in June 2010 became commander of the Seventeenth Air Force, the U.S. Air Force branch of the United States Africa Command.[1][3] As such, she was the operational commander for the U.S. involvement in the 2011 military intervention in Libya, dubbed Operation Odyssey Dawn,[3] before command of the whole operation was transferred to NATO.
After handing over command of Seventeenth Air Force, she was posted Stateside. Her Air Force official profile lists her appointments since as:
List of promotions Woodward has received during her career:[1]
