Gen. Lloyd “fig” Newton
General Lloyd “Fig” Newton is one of eleven four-star generals in the United States Air Force and the commander of Air Education and Training Command at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. He is responsible for recruiting, training, and educating all Air Force personnel. Air Education and Training Command consists of 13 Air Force bases, more than 43,000 active duty members, and 14,000 civilians. Lloyd Newton was born in 1942 in Ridgeland, South Carolina. His parents, John and Annie Newton, were tenant farmers. As a young man, he worked the land with his family and learned to appreciate the value of hard work and self-sufficiency. He attended segregated schools and graduated from Jasper High School. After high school, Newton excelled in the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Tennessee State University in Nashville. He was named a Distinguished Graduate of the program. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Aviation Education and a commission as an officer in the United States Air Force. Following his deep interest in military aviation, Newton completed pilot training and became a fighter pilot in the F-4D Phantom II. He flew 269 combat missions during the Vietnam War, including 79 missions over North Vietnam. Since his first days in the Air Force, General Newton hoped to become a member of the elite flying demonstration team, the Thunderbirds. Ten years after entering the Air Force, he achieved his goal and became the first African American pilot to become a member of the Thunderbirds. After leaving the team, General Newton was an Air Force liaison officer with the U.S. House of Representatives. Between 1988 and 1993, he assumed increasingly higher levels of command in assignments at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma; Randolph Air Force Base, Texas; and Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, where he commanded the Air Force’s only F-117 Stealth Fighter Wing. From 1993 to 1995, he was Director of Operations, United States Special Operations Command in Florida, where he directed the elite special operations forces in the U.S. Armed Forces. General Newton returned to the Pentagon as the Air Force’s Assistant Vice Chief of Staff and exercised management of the Pentagon’s Headquarters Air Force staff. He assumed his current duties in March, 1997. A command pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours, General Newton has flown a variety of aircraft, including the T-37, T-38, F-15, F-16 and the F-117 Stealth Fighter. When asked about the secret of his success, General Newton credits his parents teaching him the Golden Rule and the love of learning. “The more I learned, the more I wanted to learn. And the more I did, the more I wanted to do,” he stated. General Newton’s educational background also includes a Master of Arts degree in Public Administration from George Washington University. The General’s awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster, and numerous other military decorations. He is married to the former Elouise Morning of St. Petersburg, Florida.