The Honorable Thomas E. Ayres

Thomas E. Ayres is the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of the Air Force. In this role, he also serves as Air Force’s Chief Ethics Official and Chief Legal Officer, providing oversight, guidance and direction for legal advice provided by more than 2,600 Air Force military and civilian lawyers worldwide.

Prior to his appointment as the General Counsel, Mr. Ayres spent the majority of his professional career as an Army judge advocate. He retired from active duty as a Major General. He served in a variety of positions as a judge advocate including prosecutor, environmental litigator, appellate judge, commander of the Army’s legal center and school, and culminating as the Deputy Judge Advocate General. He is a veteran of multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan leading teams of lawyers advising commanders. Prior to serving as a judge advocate, Mr. Ayres served as an airborne rifle platoon leader and personnel officer.

Mr. Ayres graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, the University of Pennsylvania, School of Law, and later earned an LLM and a Masters of Strategic Studies.