Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders

    HomeAbout UsBiographiesDisplay      unknownEngage On
        
        unknownMAJOR GENERAL DONALD C. RALPHMaj. Gen. Donald C. Ralph is the Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Florida. He serves as the principle advisor to the Commander for all reserve component matters and oversees reserve force readiness, integration, operations, and mobilization in time of crisis and war. The command is a major command of the U.S. Air Force and the Air Force component of U.S. Special Operations Command employing specialized air power. AFSOC provides Air Force Special Operations Forces for worldwide deployment and assignment to unified combatant commanders. The command has approximately 19,000 active-duty, Reserve, Air National Guard and civilian professionals.
General Ralph entered the Air Force in 1980 as a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He served as a C-130 advanced flying training instructor pilot, followed by an Air Staff Training assignment at the Pentagon. He was then selected initial cadre aircraft commander to fly the B-1B bomber at McConnell AFB, Kansas., followed by selection to attend U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. General Ralph has served as an instructor, flight examiner and operations officer of a tactical airlift squadron. He commanded the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, the world famous "Hurricane Hunters."  Over his 35 year career, he has worked for commanders of two combatant commands and commanders of four major commands. 
The general is a command pilot with 4,000 flying hours, primarily in the WC/C-130J, C-130 and B-1B aircraft. In his civilian occupation, he is employed as an international captain on the B-767 for a major airline. **EDUCATION**
1980 Bachelor of Science degree in operations research, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. 
1984 Master of Science Degree in Engineering (CIAM), California State University, Northridge 
1984 Marine Corps Command and Staff College, by correspondence 
1985 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala. 
1996 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence 
2000 Air War College, by correspondence 
2001 Joint Aerospace Operations Senior Staff Course, Hurlburt Field, Fla. 
2002 Director of Mobility Forces Course, McGuire AFB, N.J. 
2008 Joint Nuclear Senior Surety Executive Course, Kirtland AFB, N.M. 
2009 Capstone General & Flag Officer Course, National Defense University, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. 
2009 Director of Space Forces Course, National Security Space Institute, Colorado Springs, Colo. 
2010 Advanced Cyber Security Course, Idaho National Labs, Boise, Idaho. 
2010 Harvard US-Russian Security Course and Black Sea Security Program, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. 
2011 Combined Force Air Component Commander Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2013 MQ-1/MQ-9 Senior Officer FAM Course, March AFB, Calif.**ASSIGNMENTS**
1. September 1980 - January 1982, student, undergraduate pilot training, Williams AFB, Ariz. 
2. January 1982 - July 1985, "Project Season" pilot, 146th Tactical Airlift Wing, California Air National Guard 
3. July 1985 - October 1986, advanced flying training instructor pilot, 16th Tactical Airlift Training Squadron, Little Rock AFB, Ark. 
4. October 1986 - May 1987, Air Staff Training action officer, Programs and Resources, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. 
5. May 1987 - October 1987, Air Staff Training mobility forces programmer, Programs and Resources, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. 
6. October 1987 - June 1989, B-1B aircraft commander, 384th Bomb Wing, McConnell AFB, Kan. 
7. June 1989 - June 1990, B-1B assistant flight commander, 384th Bomb Wing, McConnell AFB, Kan. 
8. June 1990 - June 1991, assistant Chief, Bomber-Tanker Combat Operations, 384th Bomb Wing, McConnell AFB, Kan. 
9. June 1991 - October 1991, civil engineering officer, 94th Airlift Wing, Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga. 
10. October 1991 - March 1994, command and control officer, 94th Airlift Wing, Dobbins ARB, Ga. 
11. March 1994 - January 1996, Chief, Operations Plans, 94th Airlift Wing, Dobbins ARB, Ga. 
12. January 1996 - May 1997, plans and programs officer, 22nd Air Force, Dobbins ARB, Ga. 
13. May 1997 - September 1999, Chief, Deliberate Plans, 22nd Air Force, Dobbins ARB, Ga. 
14. September 1999 - April 2002, Commander, 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, Keesler AFB, Miss. 
15. April 2002 - October 2005, Vice Commander, 403rd Wing, Keesler AFB, Miss. (April 2003 - October 2005, Battle Commander, Northern Command, Homeland Defense, Tyndall AFB, Fla.) 
16. October 2005 - January 2006, Senior Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Director, Mobility Management, Tanker Airlift Control Center, Scott AFB, Ill. 
17. January 2006 - December 2008, Mobilization Assistant to the Director, Global Operations (J3), U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt AFB, Neb. 
18. January 2009 - June 2011, Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, U.S. Strategic Command; also, Director, Reserve Directorate, and Commander, Joint Strategic Reserve Unit, Offutt AFB, Neb. 
19. June 2011 – October 2014, Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, U.S. Europe Command, Ramstein AB, Germany 
20. October 2014 - present, Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Fla. **SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS**
1. April 2003 - October 2005, Battle Commander, Northern Command, Homeland Defense, Tyndall AFB, Fla., as a colonel 
2. January 2006 - December 2008, Mobilization Assistant to the Director, Global Operations (J3), U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt AFB, Neb., as a colonel and brigadier general 
3. January 2009 - June 2011, Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt AFB, Neb., as a brigadier general and major general **FLIGHT INFORMATION**
Rating: command pilot 
Flight hours: 13,412 
Aircraft flown: military: B-1B, B-52H, C/W-130J, C-130E/H/H2/H3, E-6B, F-16, F-15, SU-27, AT-38, T-38, T-37 and T-41; civilian: B-767ER, B-767, B-757, L-1011, B-727, B777, MD-11 and glider aircraft **MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS**
Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster 
Legion of Merit 
Defense Meritorious Service Medal 
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters 
Aerial Achievement Award with oak leaf cluster 
Air Force Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters 
Air Force Achievement Medal 
Joint Meritorious Unit Award 
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with two oak leaf clusters 
Combat Readiness Medal with three oak leaf clusters **OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS**
Joint Qualified Officer, Level IV **EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION**
Second Lieutenant May 28, 1980 
First Lieutenant May 28, 1982 
Captain May 28, 1984 
Major May 28, 1994 
Lieutenant Colonel Sept. 18, 1998 
Colonel April 1, 2002 
Brigadier General July 1, 2007 
Major General Feb. 2, 2010 
(Current as of June 2015)
  Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil