Gwendolyn A. Foster

Gwendolyn A. Foster is an U.S. Air Force brigadier general, nurse practitioner, and midwife. She is the director of staff to the surgeon general of the U.S. Air Force and Space Force and the 19th chief nurse of the U.S. Air Force Nurse Corps. Foster is the first Black female on active duty to become a general officer in the United States Air Force Medical Service.

Life
Foster was born and raised in Springfield, Illinois. In 1988, at age 17, Foster joined the Illinois Army National Guard and served as a field medic in the Army Guard and Reserves until her honorable discharge in 1997. She earned a B.S. in nursing from the University of Maryland, Baltimore in 1995. Afterwards, she earned her M.S. in nursing (midwifery) from the University of Cincinnati and worked as a certified nurse-midwife (CNM) for two years.

She entered active duty U.S. Air Force as a captain on November 15, 2001. She earned a M.A. in military operation art and science from the Air Command and Staff College in 2012 and a M.A. in strategic military studies at the Air War College in 2018. In 2022, Foster became the director of staff to the surgeon general of the U.S. Air Force and Space Force. As the director of staff on matters pertaining to the medical aspects of the air expeditionary force and the health of Airmen and Guardians. She is the first Black female on active duty to become a general officer in the United States Air Force Medical Service. Foster also serves as the 19th chief nurse of the Air Force, responsible for establishing policies and maintaining programs for 19,000 active duty, Guard and Reserve nursing personnel. She is the first Black nurse to hold this position.

Foster is a fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, American College of Nurse-Midwives, and the American Academy of Nursing (2024).