MAJOR GENERAL PAUL E. KNAPP
Retired August 03, 2024
Maj. Gen. Paul E. Knapp was Wisconsin’s Adjutant General. He commanded the Wisconsin National Guard and was responsible for Emergency Management. He also served as Wisconsin’s Homeland Security Advisor, chaired the Homeland Security Council, and served as the senior state official for cyber matters.
General Knapp holds a master’s degree in technology management from the University of Maryland and a political science degree, with a Japanese minor, from the U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado. His military education and training include Squadron officer School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, Air Command and Staff College, Air War College, Joint Strategy War Course, Reserve Component National Security Course, Combined/Joint Air and Space Operations Senior Staff Course, and Air Force Senior Staff Course.
General Knapp entered the Air Force in 1992 as a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. On active duty, he served as a Special Agent for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations prior to attending navigator training at Randolph AFB, Texas, and Pensacola Naval Air Station, Florida. He served two operational tours as an F-15E Strike Eagle weapon systems officer and one as an air liaison officer to the U.S. Army in South Korea. He separated from active duty in August 2003 and joined the 95th Airlift Squadron of the 440th Airlift Wing, General Mitchell Air Reserve Station, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, flying the C-130H Hercules.
General Knapp has over 3,000 flight hours including 681 combat hours and more than 262 combat sorties supporting operations ALLIED FORCE, NORTHERN WATCH, SOUTHERN WATCH, ENDURING FREEDOM, IRAQI FREEDOM and Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa.
Prior to his current assignment, General Knapp was the Mobilization Assistant to the Commander of Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. He directed the Air Force’s nuclear modernization, acquisition and sustainment programs with more than 1,300 personnel at 18 locations worldwide. The center is responsible for the lifecycle management of nuclear weapons systems supporting two legs of the nation’s nuclear triad, including intercontinental ballistic missiles; air-launched cruise missiles; gravity bombs; and nuclear command, control and communication systems. He also performed alert duty as an Airborne Emergency Action Officer in command of the battle staff aboard the Airborne Nuclear Command Post which provides survivable, mobile command and control of U.S. nuclear forces in support of the Commander of U.S. Strategic Command and the President of the United States. General Knapp also previously served as the Mobilization Assistant to the Director of Operations and Communications, Air Force Global Strike Command, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana.
EDUCATION
1992 Bachelor of Science, Political Science, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.
1999 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2002 Master of Science, Technology Management, University of Maryland, Baltimore
2005 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2009 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2010 Joint Strategy and War Course, Naval War College, Newport Naval Air Station, R.I.
2011 Combined/Joint Air and Space Operations Senior Staff Course, Hurlburt AFB, Fla.
2011 Reserve Component National Security Course, National Defense University, Washington, D.C.
2013 Advanced Joint Professional Military Education (AJPME)
2016 Cyberspace Executive Development Graduate Experience, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
2018 Air Force Senior Staff Course, Hurlburt AFB, Fla.
2018 Middle East and South Asia Update, Political-Economic Conflict Seminar, Alan J. Freed Associates, Washington, D.C.
2019 Air Force Enterprise Leadership Seminar, Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
2019 Leadership Decision Making, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
2022 General and Flag Officer Homeland Security Executive Seminar (GFOS), Harvard Kennedy Center, Cambridge, Mass.
2023 Advanced Senior Leader Development Seminar, Warrenton, Va.
2023 National Security Studies Management Course, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, N.Y.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 1992 - April 1994, Special Investigations Officer, 63rd Field Investigations Squadron, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska
2. April 1994 - November 1994, Student, 558th Flying Training Squadron, Randolph AFB, Texas
3. November 1994 - August 1995, Student, VT-86 FTS, Pensacola, Fla.
4. August 1995 - June 1996, F-15E Student, 333rd Fighter Squadron, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.
5. June 1996 - June 1999, F-15E Instructor Weapon Systems Officer, 492nd FS, RAF Lakenheath, England
6. June 1999 - June 2000, Evaluator Air Liaison Officer, Chief of Standardization and Evaluation, 604th Air Support Operations Squadron, Camp Red Cloud, South Korea
7. August 2000 - August 2003, F-15E Evaluator/Functional Check Flight WSO, Chief of Current Operations, Flight Commander, 391st FS, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
8. August 2003 - April 2008, C-130H Chief Navigator, Flight Commander, Chief of Scheduling, Command Post Officer in Charge, 95th Airlift Squadron, General Mitchell Air Reserve Station, Wis.
9. April 2008 - June 2009, Chief, Operations Plans, 440th Operations Support Squadron, Pope AFB, N.C.
10. June 2009 - March 2012, Commander, 514th Flight Test Squadron, Hill AFB, Utah
11. March 2012 - May 2012, Deputy Operations Group Commander, 413th Flight Test Group, Robins AFB, Ga.
12. May 2012 - August 2013, Vice Commander, 908th Airlift Wing, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
13. August 2013 - July 2016, Senior Advisor to Director of Air, Space and Information Operations, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
14. July 2016 - August 2017, Senior Advisor to Director of Air, Space and Cyberspace Operations, AFMC, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio
15. August 2017 - February 2019, Mobilization Assistant to the Director of Operations and Communications, Air Force Global Strike Command, Barksdale AFB, La.
16. February 2019 - March 2020, Mobilization Assistant to Commander of Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
17. March 2020 - June 2024, The Adjutant General, Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: master navigator
Flight hours: more than 3,000
Aircraft flown: C-130H, C-130T, C-130E, WC-130H, C-130H2, KC-130T, C-130H3, KC-130F, HC-130P, F-15E, F-15K, F-15SG, F-15S, F-15SA, F-18D, B-52, T-2, T-39, T-38, T-37 and T-43
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters
Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Medal with oak leaf cluster
Aerial Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air and Space Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Combat Action Medal
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS & AFFLIATIONS
Air Force Association
Reserve Officer Association
U.S. Air Force Academy Association of Graduates
Naval War College Foundation
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 27, 1992
First Lieutenant May 27, 1994
Captain May 27, 1996
Major Dec. 1, 2002
Lieutenant Colonel Aug. 2, 2007
Colonel June 2, 2012
Brigadier General Dec. 12, 2018
Major General Dec. 14, 2020
(Current as of September 2024)
