General Jeffrey Harrigian heads US Air Forces Central Command Southwest Asia
Lt. Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian is Commander, U.S. Air Forces Central Command, Southwest Asia. As the Air Component Commander for U.S. Central Command, the General is responsible for developing contingency plans and conducting air operations in a 20-nation area of responsibility covering Central and Southwest Asia.
Jeffrey Harrigian graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado, Class of 1985. In 2010 he was appointed a U.S. Air Force Brigadier General. He received his second star in 2014, and in 2016 received his third star as a Lieutenant General.
He has served in a variety of flying and staff assignments, including Deputy Director for Strategy, Plans and Assessments, U.S. Forces-Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and as Chief of the Joint Exercise Division at NATO’s Joint Warfare Center, Stavanger, Norway. He has commanded at the flight, squadron and wing levels. He has flown combat missions in support of operations Just Cause and Desert Storm. He also served as Deputy Director of Operations (J3) at U.S. Central Command, Mac Dill Air Force Base, Florida.
General Harrigian also served as Director, F-35 Integration Office, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington D.C.
The general is an Air Force Weapons School graduate and a command pilot with more than 4,100 flight hours.
Under the provisions of Department of Defense 1348.33-M, the Secretary of Defense awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal to Lieutenant General Jeffrey L. Harrigian, United States Air Force, for exceptionally superior service to the Department of Defense.
President and CEO of Dover International Speedway and the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Dover Motorsports Michael Tatoian told about the Armenian roots of the high-ranking military official, news.am reports. In an interview with “Armenia Proud“, Tatoian said that he is part of the US Air Force program, within the framework of which they establish ties with civil society. He noted that they had a briefing with Jeffrey Harrigian. Tatoian noted that after the briefing he approached Harrigian and said that he was also Armenian. “Immediately there was a hug and a handshake. We started talking about our ancestors, our food our families. He looked Armenian, too,” Tatoian said.
