Lieutenant General George Trautman retired from the Marine Corps in March 2011. During his final military assignment as the Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Aviation, he oversaw aviation forces consisting of almost 40,000 officers and enlisted Marines and was responsible for developing requirements and transition plans for the delivery of new aircraft, weapons, and aviation command and control systems to the Marine Corps.

After departing military service, he founded G. J. Trautman Enterprises, a defense and aerospace consulting firm dedicated to providing beneficial and insightful guidance to clients in both government and industry. Lieutenant General Trautman learned the importance of core values and the formative impact of education at an early age as the son of a Marine Corps Sergeant Major.

He’s worked on several initiatives to support the educational needs of transitioning military-connected students, including the Joint Venture Education Forum in Hawaii and as a national advisor to the Military Child Education Coalition. A 2009 recipient of the Pennsylvania State University Distinguished Alumni Award, Lieutenant General Trautman was a charter member of the Penn State Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence Advisory Board for the university’s Department of Aerospace Engineering. Lieutenant General Trautman graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology.

He later received a Master of Science degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California and Master of Arts degrees in International Relations from Salve Regina University and in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. He is a graduate of the Armed Forces Staff College and has served as a Fellow in residence at the Brookings Institution.