S. Clinton Hinote is a retired Air Force three-star general and the first leader of Air Force Futures. Throughout his career, he served at the leading edge of change as he developed novel tactics, revised dated battle plans, reinvented staid organizations, led complex alliances, and disrupted dated doctrine. In his role as the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Air Force, he led a 400-person organization to become “Air Force Futures,” responsible for planning and integration for the future Air Force. As the Air Force’s “futurist,” he applied intellectual leadership with urgency and determination, which resulted in a fundamental reconsideration of how the Department of Defense could succeed in the competition with China, connecting military power to political objectives. The general has extensive diplomatic experience, serving as a commander both in NATO and Korea, and also serving on the Country Team at US Embassy Baghdad, where the Ambassador tapped him to act as Deputy Chief of Mission in his absence. After retirement, he has transitioned to advising, coaching, and encouraging change-oriented leaders in national security across the government, business, finance, and nonprofit sectors. General Hinote is a senior advisor to the Strategic Competitive Studies Project, and he teaches graduate courses on national security at the Pardee RAND School of Public Policy. General Hinote graduated first in his class at both the Air Force Academy and Air Command and Staff College. He holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School and a PhD. in military strategy from Air University.
Lt. Gen. Hinote was commissioned in 1992 upon graduating from the U.S. Air Force
Academy. After earning a master's degree in public policy from Harvard's Kennedy
School of Government, he completed training to become a fighter pilot. His operational assignments include instructor duty at the USAF Weapons School, leader of the Air ForcesCentral Strategy Division, Squadron Commander, Wing Vice Commander and Wing Commander. Lt. Gen. Hinote is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Weapons School, Air Command and Staff College, and the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies. Lt. Gen. Hinote was a command pilot with more than 2,000 flight hours and 240 combat hours in operations Northern and Southern Watch.
