Lt. General Leo Marquez concluded a 33-year Air Force career in 1987 as Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics and Engineering, Headquarters, U.S. Air Force. He is a senior pilot, and spent over twenty-five years in aircraft maintenance, supply, transportation, and program management. General Marquez served in Command and Staff positions in the Air Defense Command, Tactical Air Command, the Canadian Armed Forces, the Air Force Logistics Command, and Headquarters Air Force. He commanded the Ogden Air Logistics Center, which is responsible for the worldwide support of the F-4 and F-16 aircraft, as well as all ballistic missiles, flight simulators, and conventional munitions. He was the System Manager for the F-l 11 aircraft, and was involved in the introduction of the F-l5 and F-16 fighters.
He is a recognized expert in all aspects of logistics and support infrastructure, strategic planning, and logistics management information systems. He received the 2004 Logistics Officers Association, Lifetime Achievement Award. His legacy in logistics and maintenance continues through prestigious Lt. General Leo Marquez Maintenance Award which recognizes maintainers in the categories of aircraft, munitions/missile and communications-electronics maintenance who have demonstrated the highest degree of sustained job performance, job efficiency and results, job knowledge, and direct sortie generation involvement.
His military decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal and Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster. He was selected as Air Force Logistics Command Systems Manager of the year in 1974. In 1977 he was the recipient of the Air Force Association's Executive Management Award.
General Marquez holds B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Zoology from New Mexico State University, and an M.B.A. from The George Washington University. He completed Air Command and Staff College as a distinguished graduate and attended the advanced management program for executives, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh. In 1978 he was named a distinguished alumnus from New Mexico State University.
Since his retirement from active duty, General Marquez has been Vice President for an environmental engineering firm, and then Chief Executive Officer of an aircraft noise attenuation firm. He also led New Mexico's successful effort to preserve Kirtland Air Force Base form closure by the 1995 BRAC. He has continued to serve his state and community in many ways, among them, as Board of Regent for New Mexico Tech and for the New Mexico Museum and as a Board of Director of Wells Fargo Bank, and the Kirtland Partnership Committee.