Speakers

Brig. Gen. Joseph D. Kunkel is the Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force for Operational Imperative Integration, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Arlington, Virginia. He leads a team of military and civilians to integrate the capabilities developed under the seven Operational Imperatives and put them in the hands of the warfighter. Brig. Gen. Kunkel is also responsible for integrating the Operational Imperatives with the corporate process — defining capability requirements for the priority mission threads; then codifying them as inputs in the annual Program Objective Memorandum cycles.

Brig. Gen. Kunkel commissioned at the United States Air Force Academy in June of1994. Following Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma, he was assigned to the F-15E Strike Eagle. He transitioned to the F- 22 Raptor as part of Pacific Air Forces’ F-22 initial cadre where he served as the Commander of the 90th Fighter Squadron. Before assuming his current position, he was the Director of Plans, Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force. Brig. Gen. Kunkel is a command pilot with over 2,776 flying hours.