Kristin Elizabeth Goodwin is a brigadier general in the United States Air Force (USAF). A transport pilot after graduating the U.S. Air Force Academy, she moved on to bombers before assuming commands. She served as the USAF Academy's commandant of cadets, a post from which she was removed due to a USAF Inspector General investigation. , she was the chief of staff of the United States Space Force's Space Operations Command. Personal life Kristin Elizabeth Goodwin was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her father was active-duty US Coast Guard (who retired after 30 years), and her mother was a retiree from the US Air Force Reserve. As a Coast Guard brat who moved frequently, she claimed Fairfax, Virginia as her home town because she attended high school there. Openly gay, Goodwin was married to her wife Kelly Goodwin ()—a professional cyclist and former firefighter. They have two daughters (born in and ). An athlete, the general has competed in five marathons, as well as Ironman Triathlons and the Bataan Memorial Death March. Education Goodwin received her Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the United States Air Force Academy in 1993. In 2001, she received her Master of Arts in business and organizational management from George Washington University. Military career Pilot On 2 June 1993, Goodwin was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force; from August 1993 through January 1994, her first assignment was as the Assistant Deputy Executive Officer or Professional Military Studies at her alma mater, the Air Force Academy. She then underwent flight training for the Cessna T-37 Tweet, Raytheon T-1 Jayhawk, and Lockheed C-130 Hercules at Laughlin and Little Rock Air Force Bases from January 1994 – August 1995. That August, then-First Lieutenant Goodwin was assigned to the 41st Electronic Combat Squadron at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base as the commander of a Lockheed EC-130H Compass Call. In February 1998, now a captain, she became an EC-130 instructor and the Operations Executive Officer of Davis–Monthan's 355th Operations Group. From July 1999 through June 2001, Captain Goodwin worked in the Pentagon offices of the Secretary of the Air Force and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (General Hugh Shelton) as part of the Air Force Intern Program. Goodwin was stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base from June 2001 – July 2006. For her first year, Goodwin's duties with the 394th Combat Training Squadron