Roy Dubard Bridges Jr. is an American pilot, engineer, retired United States Air Force officer, test pilot, former NASA astronaut and the former director of NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center and Langley Research Center. As a command pilot, he has over 4,460 flying hours, and is a decorated veteran of 262 combat missions during the Vietnam War. He retired as a U.S. Air Force major general, last serving as the Director of Requirements, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, from June 1993 until his retirement. He is married with two adult children.
Lance L. Smith is a retired United States Air Force general who last served as the Commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia, and NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation from November 10, 2005, to November 9, 2007. A highly decorated combat veteran, the general retired from active duty on January 1, 2008.
The Air Education and Training Command (AETC) is one of the nine Major Commands (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF), reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force. It was established 1 July 1993, with the realignment of Air Training Command and Air University.
Luke Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is located 7 miles west of the central business district of Glendale, and 15 miles west of Phoenix.
Nicole Margaret Ellingwood Malachowski is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) officer and the first female pilot selected to fly as part of the USAF Air Demonstration Squadron, better known as the Thunderbirds. She later became a speaker and advocate on behalf of patients with tick-borne illnesses.
A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting. A fighter pilot with at least five air-to-air kills becomes known as an ace.
Eric Allen Boe is a retired United States Air Force fighter pilot, Colonel, test pilot, and a current, active NASA astronaut. He flew as the pilot of Space Shuttle missions STS-126 and STS-133.
A Combat Systems Officer (CSO) is a flight member of an aircrew in the United States Air Force and is the mission commander in many multi-crew aircraft. The combat systems officer manages the mission and integrates systems and crew with the aircraft commander to collectively achieve and maintain situational awareness and mission effectiveness. CSOs are trained in piloting, navigation, the use of the electromagnetic spectrum, and are experts in weapon system employment on their specific airframe. Aircrew responsibilities include mission planning, mission timing, weapons targeting and employment, threat reactions, aircraft communications, and hazard avoidance.
General Gregory Stuart Martin is a retired U.S. Air Force general and Commander, Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Martin was a command pilot with more than 4,600 flying hours in various aircraft, including the F-4, F-15, C-20 and C-21. Upon retirement in 2005, Martin took a position consulting for Northrop Grumman and also served on an Air Force panel studying stealth aircraft technology, among other Pentagon and private industry roles.
The 4th Operations Group is the flying component of the 4th Fighter Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force Air Combat Command. The group is stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina.
Steven Lloyd Kwast is a retired United States Air Force lieutenant general. He last served as commander of Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. In that role, he was responsible for the recruiting, training and education of Air Force personnel. The command includes Air Force Recruiting Service, two numbered air forces and Air University. The command operates more than 1,400 trainer, fighter and mobility aircraft, 23 wings, 10 bases and five geographically separated groups. It trains more than 293,000 students per year with approximately 60,000 active-duty, Reserve, Guard, civilian and contractor personnel.
Gregory A. Feest is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) major general who last served as the Chief of Safety of the United States Air Force, Headquarters USAF, Washington, D.C., and commander of the Air Force Safety Center, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico.
Hispanics in the United States Air Force can trace their tradition of service back to the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), the military aviation arm of the United States Army during and immediately after World War II. The USAAF was the predecessor of the United States Air Force, which was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947, under the National Security Act of 1947. In the U.S., the term Hispanic categorizes any citizen or resident of the United States, of any racial background, of any country, and of any religion, who has at least one ancestor from the people of Spain or is of non-Hispanic origin but has an ancestor from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central or South America, or some other Hispanic origin. The three largest Hispanic groups in the United States are the Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans. According to the U.S. Census Bureau the estimated Hispanic population of the United States is over 50 million, or 16% of the U.S. population, and Hispanics are the nation's largest ethnic minority. The 2010 U.S. census estimate of over 50 million Hispanics in the U.S. does not include the 3.9 million residents of Puerto Rico, thereby making the people of Hispanic origin the nation's largest ethnic or race minority as of July 1, 2005.
Lieutenant General Clyde Dewey Moore II is a retired United States Air Force officer who served as Commander, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The organization is the single center responsible for total life cycle management covering all aircraft, engines, munitions, and electronic systems.
Herbert Jay "Hawk" Carlisle is a retired United States Air Force four-star general who last served as the commander of Air Combat Command, at Langley Field, Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia. He also previously served as the commander of Pacific Air Forces while concurrently serving as air component commander for United States Pacific Command and executive director of Pacific Air Combat Operations Staff, Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii. He officially retired from the Air Force on May 1, 2017, with 39 years of service.
Jeannie Marie Leavitt is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) general officer. She became the U.S. Air Force's first female fighter pilot in 1993, and was the first woman to command a USAF combat fighter wing. In April 2021, she was appointed to replace Major General John T. Rauch as Chief of Safety of the United States Air Force, and assumed office on August 13, 2021.
Anthony James Rock is a retired lieutenant general of the U.S. Air Force and last served as the Inspector General of the Air Force assigned within the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, Washington, D.C.
Joseph Thomas Guastella Jr. is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Air Force who served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations of the United States Air Force. He was commissioned upon his graduation from the United States Air Force Academy in 1987.
Mark Damon Kelly is a retired general in the United States Air Force who served as the commander of Air Combat Command from 2020 to 2024. He previously served as the deputy chief of staff for operations from August 2018 to August 2020. He is a command pilot with more than 6,000 flying hours. His pilot experience is including 800 combat hours in Tactical Fighter-Aircraft.
David R. Iverson is a United States Air Force lieutenant general who serves as the deputy commander of United States Forces Korea, commander of the Air Component Command of the United Nations Command, commander of the Air Component Command of the ROK/US Combined Forces Command, and commander of the Seventh Air Force. He previously served as the director of air and cyberspace operations of Pacific Air Forces.
