Howard Douglas Stendahl is a United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 chaplain

Military chaplain

A military chaplain is a chaplain who ministers to soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and other members of the military. In many countries, chaplains also minister to the family members of military personnel, to civilian noncombatants working for military organizations and to civilians within the...

 who was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General

Brigadier General

Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...

 on April 1, 2011, and named Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force

Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force

The Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force is the second senior-most Chaplain in the United States Air Force Chaplain Service, holding the rank of Brigadier General, and acting as principal deputy to the Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force.The current Deputy Chief of...

.

Early life

Born and reared in St. Paul, Minnesota, Stendahl was ordained into the ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...

 in 1977. He studied Clinical Pastoral Education and served as a parish pastor in Texas and Wisconsin before entering the Air Force Chaplain Service in 1985.

Education

According to Stendahl's official U.S. Air Force bio, his education includes:

• 1973 Bachelor of Arts, Hamline University, St. Paul Minn.
• 1977 Master of Divinity, Luther Theological Seminary, St. Paul Minn.
• 1988 Squadron Officer School (Residence)
• 1994 Doctor of Ministry, Graduate Theological Foundation, South Bend Ind.
• 1995 Air Command and Staff College (Residence)
• 2001 Air War College (Seminar)
• 2004 Master of Strategic Studies, Air War College (Residence)

Military assignments

Stendahls's past assignments, prior to his promotion to Brigadier General and assignment as U.S. Air Force Deputy Chief of Chaplains, included:

• 1985 - Chaplain, Basic Military Training School, Permanent Party Chapel, Lackland AFB TX
• 1988 - Protestant Chaplain, Shaw AFB SC (deployed to Al Dhafra AB, UAE 1990-91)
• 1991 - Chaplain to Cadets, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.
• 1994 - Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
• 1995 - Senior Protestant Chaplain, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
• 1997 - Command Staff Chaplain, U.S. European Command, Patch Barracks, Stuttgart-Vaihingen GE
• 1999 - Senior Staff Chaplain, HQ Air Force Recruiting Service, Randolph AFB, Texas
• 2002 - Wing Chaplain, Ellsworth AFB, S.D.
• 2003 - Student, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
• 2004 - Director, USAF Chaplain Service Institute, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
• 2006 - Command Chaplain, Air Education and Training Command, Randolph AFB, Texas
• 2009 - Command Chaplain, Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va.

Awards and honors

Stendahl's numerous military awards include:

• Legion of Merit
• Bronze Star
• Defense Meritorious Service Medal
• Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
• Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster
• Presidential Unit Citation
• Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor with three oak leaf clusters
• Air Force Organizational Excellence Award
• National Defense Service Medal with one device
• Southwest Asia Service Medal with two bronze stars
• Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
• Humanitarian Service Medal with one device
• Air Force Recruiting Service Award
• Liberation Medal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
• Liberation Medal, Government of Kuwait

See also

• Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force
  Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force
  The Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force is the commanding officer of the U.S. Air Force Chaplain Corps. The current CCHAF is Major General Cecil R. Richardson.-U.S...
  
  
• Armed Forces Chaplains Board
  Armed Forces Chaplains Board
  The Armed Forces Chaplains Board is an organizational entity within the United States Department of Defense established to advise the Secretary of Defense and the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness on religious, ethical, and moral matters, in addition to a number of policy...