Daniel P. Leaf

Daniel P. Leaf is a former United States Air Force officer; he served as deputy commander and acting commander of United States Pacific Command at Camp H. M. Smith in Hawaii.

Early life and education
A native of Shawano, Wisconsin, Leaf earned his commission as a distinguished graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Air Force ROTC program in 1974.

Career
Leaf has commanded a flight, two squadrons, an operations group and two fighter wings, and has directed joint operations.

In 1995, LtGen Leaf served as the J-3 for Joint Task Force-Southwest Asia and flew the F-15C over Southern Iraq, enforcing U.N. sanctions on the Saddam Hussein regime. He deployed to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, with one of his 20th Fighter Wing squadrons in 1998 and flew the F-16CJ on Operation Northern Watch suppression of enemy air defense missions over Northern Iraq. During Operation Allied Force, LtGen Leaf commanded the 31st Air Expeditionary Wing, which included F-16CG, F-16CJ, F-15E, F-117A, A-10A and EC-130 aircraft squadrons. He flew and led F-16CG day and night combat missions against fixed and mobile targets in Serbia and Kosovo. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, he served as the Director, Air Component Coordination Element with the Coalition Land Forces Component Commander in Kuwait and Iraq. In that role, he served as the Air Component Commander's direct representative to the Land Commander during planning and initial major combat operations.

Prior to this assignment, General Leaf was the Vice Commander of Air Force Space Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. Other staff assignments include duty as the Air Force's Director of Operational Requirements and the Deputy J-3, U.S. Forces Korea.

Personal life
Leaf retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2008 after more than 33 years of service. He worked for Northrop Grumman Information Systems as the Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, from September 2008 to January 2012. He returned to government service as the Director of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS) in January 2012. In 2015, the center was renamed the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI APCSS). After five years at DKI APCSS, he left to start Phase Minus 1, LLC. He also serves as the Executive Director for Indo-Asia Pacific Operations for CyberSpace Operations Consulting, Inc.

Education
1974 Bachelor of Science degree in political science, University of Wisconsin–Madison

1976 Squadron Officer School, by correspondence

1983 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence

1986 Honor graduate, United States Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

1986 Master of Arts degree in military art and science, Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

1987 Outstanding graduate, Air War College, by correspondence

1988 U.S. Army Battalion Pre-Command Course, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

1993 Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama

1998 Senior Information Warfare Applications Course, Maxwell AFB, Alabama

2000 National Security Leadership Course, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York

2000 Joint Flag Officers Warfighting Course, Maxwell AFB, Alabama

2001 Joint Force Air Component Commander Course, Maxwell AFB, Alabama

2004 Leadership at the Peak, Center for Creative Leadership, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Military Assignments

 * 1) December 1974 - November 1975, student, pilot training, Columbus AFB, Mississippi
 * 2) March 1976 - November 1976, student, F-4D initial training, George AFB, California
 * 3) November 1976 - April 1978, F-4D aircraft commander, flight lead and standardization and evaluation officer, 7th and 9th Tactical Fighter Squadrons, Holloman AFB, New Mexico
 * 4) May 1978 - August 1978, student, OV-10 training, Patrick AFB, Florida
 * 5) August 1978 - April 1980, OV-10 forward air controller, 19th Tactical Air Support Squadron; instructor pilot and flight examiner, 51st Composite Group; later, Chief, and standardization and evaluation officer, 5th Tactical Group, Osan Air Base, South Korea
 * 6) April 1980 - July 1981, weapons system project officer and standardization and evaluation flight examiner, Headquarters Pacific Air Forces, Hickam AFB, Hawaii
 * 7) July 1981 - June 1985, F-15C pilot, instructor pilot, Chief of Training and Scheduling, and flight commander, 44th Tactical Fighter Squadron, later, standardization and evaluation branch chief, 18th Tactical Fighter Wing, Kadena AB, Japan
 * 8) June 1985 - May 1988, student, later, faculty member, Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
 * 9) May 1988 - May 1992, F-15 instructor pilot, Chief of Standardization and Evaluation, and operations officer, 426th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, later, Commander, 555th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, later, Commander, 58th Operations Support Squadron, Luke AFB, Ariz.
 * 10) June 1992 - June 1993, Air Combat Command-sponsored research fellow and student, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
 * 11) July 1993 - July 1995, Deputy Commander, later, Commander, 1st Operations Group, Langley AFB, Virginia
 * 12) March 1995 - June 1995, J-3, Joint Task Force Southwest Asia, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
 * 13) July 1995 - June 1997, Deputy J-3, U.S. Forces Korea, and Assistant Deputy C-3, Republic of Korea/U.S. Combined Forces Command, Yongsan, South Korea
 * 14) July 1997 - November 1998, Commander, 20th Fighter Wing, Shaw AFB, South Carolina
 * 15) November 1998 - January 2000, Commander, 31st Fighter Wing and 31st Air Expeditionary Wing, Aviano AB, Italy
 * 16) January 2000 - November 2002, Director of Operational Requirements, Deputy Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
 * 17) December 2002 - July 2003, Director of Operational Capability Requirements, Deputy Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. (February 2003 - April 2003, Director, U.S. Central Command Air Forces Air Component Coordination Element, Coalition Land Forces Component Headquarters, Camp Doha, Kuwait)
 * 18) August 2003 - September 2005, Vice Commander, Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colorado
 * 19) October 2005 - April 2008, Deputy Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii

Flight information
Rating: Command pilot

Flight hours: More than 3,600

Aircraft flown: F-4C/D, OV-10, O-2, F-15A/B/C/D, F-16 Block 25/40/42/50, UH-1N and HH-60G

Other achievements
1975 Distinguished graduate, Flying Training Award and Air Training Command's Commander's *Trophy, undergraduate pilot training

1983 Outstanding Company Grade Officer of the Year, Pacific Air Forces

1993 Secretary of the Air Force Leadership Award, Air War College

1999 Air Force Public Affairs Special Achievement for Commander Support Award

Publications
2018:	“The One Thing Trump Should Ask of Kim Jong Un,” Politico

2018: “U.S.-North Korea summit: Meeting of minds?,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser

2018:	“Diplomacy, sanctions, missile defense: Use this triad against North Korea,” Defense News

2017:	“Comprehensive missile defense for the homeland,” Defense News

2017:	“Keeping it real: Credible military options for the North Korean threat,” Defense News

2017: “Improve Hawai'i's Missile Defenses – Now,” Defense One

2017:	“An Urgently Practical Approach to the Korean Peninsula,” the Oslo Forum (winner of the Forum's first-ever “Peacewriter Prize)

2017:	“The US Army Urgently Needs a Modern Air-Defense Control System,” Defense One

2017:	“A viable military option: Countering North Korea's weapons program,” Defense News

1994 "Acceptable Risk Planning Factor," Air-Land-Sea Applications Agency Bulletin

1993 "Unity of Command and Interdiction," Air University Press

1988 "The Future of Close Air Support," Military Review

1988 "Establishment and Evolution of Air-to-Air Weapons System Evaluation Programs," Army Command and General Staff College thesis