John W. Handy

John W. Handy
General John W. Handy
Born	April 29, 1944 (1944-04-29) Raleigh, North Carolina
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1967-2005
Rank	General
Commands held	Transportation Command
Battles/wars	Vietnam War
Awards	Legion of Merit (2) Air Medal (2) Antarctica Service Medal

General John W. Handy (born April 29, 1944) was Commander, U.S. Transportation Command, and Commander, Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois from October 2001 until September 2005. General Handy retired effective October 1, 2005.

General Handy was commissioned in 1967 and received his pilot wings in 1968. He has commanded the 21st Air Force at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey; the Air Mobility Command's Tanker Airlift Control Center; two airlift wings and a maintenance squadron. He has served as the Director of Operations and Logistics for USTRANSCOM; the Air Force's Director of Programs and Evaluations, and Deputy Chief of Staff, Installations and Logistics, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, The Pentagon, Washington, D.C.

General Handy is a command pilot with more than 5,000 flying hours, principally in airlift aircraft. As a C-130 Hercules pilot, he logged more than 300 combat hours in Southeast Asia. Prior to assuming command over the U.S. Transportation Command, the general was Vice Chief of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.

Education

• 1966 Bachelor's degree in history, Methodist College, Fayetteville, North Carolina
• 1972 Squadron Officer School
• 1979 Air Command and Staff College
• 1979 Master's degree in systems management, University of Southern California
• 1982 Air War College
• 1984 National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
• 1993 Program for Senior Executives, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Flight information

• Rating: Command pilot
• Flight hours: More than 5,000
• Aircraft flown: C-130 Hercules, C-141, C-17, C-7A, C-9, C-37 and KC-10

Major awards and decorations

•   Defense Distinguished Service Medal
•   Distinguished Service Medal
•   Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
•   Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
•   Air Medal with oak leaf cluster
•   Antarctica Service Medal
•   Vietnam Service Medal with three bronze stars
•   Philippine Presidential Unit Citation
•   Légion d'honneur
•   Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm
  • 2005 Air Force Order of the Sword

Other achievements

• 1992 Honorary doctor of humanities, Methodist College

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "[1]".