Yi Xiaoguang
| Yi Xiaoguang | |
|---|---|
| 乙晓光 | |
| Deputy Chief of PLA General Staff | |
|
Assumed office July 2014 | |
| Chief | Fang Fenghui |
| Commander of the Nanjing Military Region Air Force | |
|
In office December 2010 – December 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Jiang Jianzeng |
| Succeeded by | Zheng Qunliang |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
June 1958 (age 57) Shuyang, Jiangsu, China |
| Political party | Communist Party of China |
| Alma mater | PLA Air Force Command Academy |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 China |
| Service/branch | People's Liberation Army Air Force |
| Years of service | 1974 – present |
| Rank |
 Lieutenant General |
Yi Xiaoguang (Chinese: 乙晓光; born June 1958) is a lieutenant general of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) of China. He has been Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, and its predecessor, the General Staff Department, since July 2014, and previously served as Commander of the Nanjing Military Region Air Force and President of the Air Force Command Academy.
Biography
Yi Xiaoguang was born into a military family in Shuyang County, Jiangsu Province.[1] He joined the PLAAF in 1974 at the age of 16, studied at the Baoding Aviation School for a year, and became a battalion-level commander 3 years later at the age of 20. He entered the famous PLA Air Force Command Academy in Haidian, Beijing in 1984, laying the foundation for his subsequent "helicopter rise." He reached the post of deputy division commander in 1989 at the age of 31 and division command in 1992, director of the Department of Training in the PLAAF Headquarters in 1996 (the youngest grade-two department head at the time), and deputy chief of staff of Guangzhou Military Region Air Force in 2002.[2]
Yi served as president of the PLA Air Force Command Academy (AFCA) from 2004 to 2008. In PLA tradition, it is relatively easy to find a capable corps commander, but very difficult to locate a capable president for a top military university. When he was divisional commander in 1992, Yi wrote The Chinese/English Manual for Jet Pilots, unique for a combat pilot with no formal higher education and an achievement helpful for his appointment to the presidency of the AFCA.[2] In 2003, Yi Xiaoguang and Sun Herong co-authored the highly acclaimed book The Stealth Aircraft: A Difficult Adversary (隐形飞机及其克星). The book proved popular with the PLAAF, then in the midst of examining high-tech warfare.[2]:228
In 2008 Yi was brought back to the PLAAF headquarters as deputy chief of staff. In December 2010, he was appointed commander of the Nanjing Military Region Air Force. In December 2012, he was named assistant to the Chief of PLA General Staff, before getting promoted to Deputy Chief of Staff in July 2014.[1][3]
Yi attained the rank of major general in July 2001, and lieutenant general in July 2012. He is an alternate member of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China,[1] ranking 166 out of 168 alternate members (based on votes in favour at the Party Congress).
References
- 1 2 3 "Yi Xiaoguang" (in Chinese). National Chengchi University. 4 August 2015.
- 1 2 3 You Ji (2012). "Meeting the Challenge of the Upcoming PLAAF Leadership Reshuffle". The Chinese Air Force: Evolving Concepts, Roles, and Capabilities (PDF). National Defense University Press. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-16-091386-0.
- ↑ "解放军副大军区级将领十八大后调整基本到位". Tencent (in Chinese). 2013-01-30.
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