8th Fighter Wing Commander Is Stepping Down
After 11-Month Vacancy, Air Force Has a New Vice Chief
Air Force Grapples with Challenges to Aircraft Readiness
Air Force Orders No-Notice Readiness Inspections
Bussiere to Retire After Vice Chief Nomination Withdrawn
CMSAF Wolfe on Standards, Teaching, and Rapport with Wilsbach
Introducing Rolls: A Quick Glance Inside the Seventh Air Force Commander
New PACAF Commander Tapped in Pentagon Nominations
PHOTOS: Lt. General Comes Home to Talk to Superior Students
Pleus: US Capitol Attack Reverberated on the Korean Peninsula
Seventh Air Force Commander's Battlefield Circulation
Seventh Air Force Hosts First Virtual Change of Command
Three minutes on any operating floor reveals whether an organization is ready or only looks ready. Scott Pleus on the signals that can’t be staged.
The Three-Minute Test That Tells You Whether Your Organization Will Fail Under Pressure
Three-Star General Performing Duties of Air Force Vice Chief
With Hold Lifted, What Happens Next for New Generals?
Fellowship in Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellow
Master of Arts in International Relations
Master of Military Operational Arts and Science in Military Operational Arts and Science
Professional Development Program in U.S. Air Force Enterprise Leadership Seminar
Professional Military Education in Air War College
Professional Military Education in Capstone General and Flag Officer Course
Professional Military Education in Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course
Professional Military Education in Joint Force Air Component Commander Course
Professional Military Education in Pinnacle General and Flag Officer Course
Professional Military Education in Squadron Officer School
Held end-to-end accountability for $240 billion of budget authority across operations, personnel, readiness, and modernization for the Department of the Air Force.
Enterprise budget and resource stewardship
Career F-16 fighter pilot who flew the F-35 with wing command experience at the 8th Fighter Wing and 56th Fighter Wing.
Directed Air Force-wide policy on no-notice unit readiness inspections and addressed aircraft readiness challenges as the acting Vice Chief of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force
Force readiness policy and inspection design
Commanded Seventh Air Force and served as Deputy Commander, U.S. Forces Korea, leading air component operations in a joint, coalition environment.
Joint and coalition operations (Korean Peninsula)
End-to-end operational command experience at scales ranging from a 5,000-person division to a 680,000-person, $240 billion enterprise.
The discipline of building organizations that are ready for pressure rather than organizations that merely look ready, centered on enforcing a visible, consistent daily standard as the leading indicator of performance under pressure.
Readiness Architecture (organizational readiness under pressure)
The paired, inseparable operating-standard line naming the Readiness Architecture mechanism. The first half names the diagnostic (what an organization currently tolerates is what it currently teaches); the second names the mechanism (the standard a leader enforces is the organization that leader builds). Always used together, never split.
What you tolerate, you teach. What you enforce, you build.
Master of Military Operational Arts and Science, Military Operational Arts and Science
Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
Professional Military Education, Air War College
Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
Professional Development Program, U.S. Air Force Enterprise Leadership Seminar
Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Professional Military Education, Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course
Professional Military Education, Joint Force Air Component Commander Course
Professional Military Education, Capstone General and Flag Officer Course
Professional Military Education, Pinnacle General and Flag Officer Course
National Defense University, Washington, D.C.
Professional Military Education, Squadron Officer School
Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
Fellowship, Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellow
Scott Pleus is a world-class operating executive who architects readiness by running the daily standard that decides whether an organization performs under pressure.
F-16 Pilot at 18th Fighter Squadron, Eielson AFB, Alaska
Flight Commander, F-16 Flight Examiner and Instructor at 34th Fighter Squadron, Hill AFB, Utah
Flight Commander, F-16 Flight Examiner and Instructor
F-16 Flight Examiner and Instructor at 35th Fighter Squadron, Kunsan Air Base, South Korea
Commander at 56th Fighter Wing, Luke AFB, Ariz.
Operations Officer at 56th Training Squadron, Luke AFB, Ariz.
Commander at 611th Air and Space Operations Center, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska
Student at 61st Fighter Squadron, Luke AFB, Ariz.
Commander at 63rd Fighter Squadron, Luke AFB, Ariz.
Commander at 8th Fighter Wing, Kunsan Air Base, South Korea
Student at Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
Joint and Combined Contingency Plans Officer at Alaskan Command, Plans and Programs, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska
Joint and Combined Contingency Plans Officer
Student at F-16 Replacement Training Unit, MacDill AFB, Fla.
Director at F-35 Integration Office, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
Director, Plans, Programs, and Requirements at Headquarters Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.
Director, Plans, Programs, and Requirements
Director at Headquarters Air Education and Training Command Action Group, Randolph AFB, Texas
Director of Air and Cyberspace Operations at Headquarters Pacific Air Forces, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
Director of Air and Cyberspace Operations
Acting Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force at Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
Acting Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force
Director of Staff at Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
Current assignment as of the official biography dated March 2026.
Executive Officer to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force at Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
Executive Officer to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force
Student at Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk Naval Air Station, Va.
Deputy Commander, United States Forces Korea; Commander, Air Component Command, United Nations Command; Commander, Air Component Command, Combined Forces Command; and Commander, Seventh Air Force at Seventh Air Force, Pacific Air Forces, Osan Air Base, South Korea
Deputy Commander, United States Forces Korea; Commander, Air Component Command, United Nations Command; Commander, Air Component Command, Combined Forces Command; and Commander, Seventh Air Force
Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellow at Sun Microsystems, Menlo Park, Calif.
Student at Undergraduate Pilot Training, Columbus Air Force Base, Miss.
Undergraduate Pilot Training, Columbus Air Force Base, Miss.
Aerial Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters (United States Air Force)
Air Medal with oak leaf cluster (United States Air Force)
Air and Space Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster (United States Air Force)
Defense Distinguished Service Medal (United States Air Force)
Defense Meritorious Service Medal (United States Air Force)
Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster (United States Air Force)
Legion of Merit with three oak leaf clusters (United States Air Force)
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters (United States Air Force)
Scott Pleus is an operating executive who has built his career on a single conviction: an organization's confidence in its own readiness is only as good as the last time someone actually tested it.
Operating Executive · Readiness Architecture · What You Tolerate, You Teach.
Brand strategy partner that developed Pleus's Readiness Architecture positioning, semantic triple, and bio framework (Pleus_Brand_Framework_FINAL, July 2026).
Confirmed as Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force in February 2026, succeeding Pleus in the role he had been performing the duties of on an acting basis since February 2025.
Numbered air force commanded by Pleus; he also served as Deputy Commander, U.S. Forces Korea, during this assignment.
Pleus's employer throughout his military career, culminating in his role as Director of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force.