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    HomeAbout UsBiographiesDisplay      Effective Dates of Promotion
                
                Second Lieutenant                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                June 06, 1973First Lieutenant                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 June 06, 1975Captain                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          June 06, 1977Major                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            August 01, 1984Lieutenant Colonel                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               July 01, 1988Colonel                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          January 01, 1992Brigadier General                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                July 01, 1997Major General                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    July 01, 2000Engage OnFacebook PostsYour browser is incompatible with this widget.
                        
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        Major General JOHN L. BARRYRetired as Executive Director of the Columbia Accident Investigation, Shirlington, Va.
Maj. Gen. John L. Barry is Director, Plans and Programs, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
General Barry is a 1973 honor graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He graduated from Fighter Weapons School, and was a test and evaluation pilot at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. He was selected a White House fellow at NASA during the Challenger disaster and served as the Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He has commanded an Air Force fighter squadron, and in a combat zone, a fighter operations group and a composite wing. He served as commander of Air Force forces where he led the recovery of a wing following the Blackhawk shootdown at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey.
Between wing commander positions, General Barry served as the Director of Strategic Plans and Programs at the U.S Air Forces in Europe command. He served as Commander of the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., the largest fighter wing in the United States. During his tenure, he led the largest engine recovery in U.S. Air Force history while still graduating more than 1,500 fully trained fighter pilots. Prior to assuming his current position, General Barry served as Director of Strategic Planning, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force. The general is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a command pilot with more than 3,000 flight hours in the F-4 and F-16, including more than 270 hours of combat time in support of operations Southern Watch and Provide Comfort over Iraq.EDUCATION
1973 Bachelor of science degree in international affairs and political science, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
1977 Squadron Officer School, by correspondence
1980 Master's degree in public administration, University of Oklahoma, Norman
1984 Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
1994 National Security Fellow, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 1973 - August 1974, student, undergraduate pilot training, Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas
2. August 1974 - June 1975, student, F-4 training, 71st Tactical Fighter Squadron, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.
3. June 1975 - November 1976, pilot, 32nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, Soesterberg Air Base, Netherlands
4. November 1976 - September 1979, F-4E instructor pilot, 512th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, West Germany (November 1977 - June 1978, attached to Air Force Test and Evaluation for the imaging infrared Maverick missile)
5. October 1979 - October 1980, Air Staff training officer, Office of the Inspector General, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
6. October 1980 - June 1983, F-4 project officer, 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron, Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.
7. February 1981 - June 1981, student, Fighter Weapons School, Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.
8. June 1983 - July 1984, aide to the commander, 12th Air Force, Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas
9. August 1984 - January 1985, student, Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
10. January 1985 - August 1985, action officer for fighter programs, Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel Resources, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
11. September 1985 - December 1986, White House Fellow, executive officer, and liaison to the NASA administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, D.C.
12. May 1987 - May 1988, Chief of Safety, 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, Kunsan Air Base, South Korea
13. May 1988 - June 1989, operations officer, 421st Tactical Fighter Squadron, Hill Air Force Base, Utah
14. June 1989 - July l990, Commander, 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron (first operational F-16C Block 40 squadron), Hill Air Force Base, Utah
15. July 1990 - August 1992, Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
16. August 1992 - August 1993, Commander, 56th Operations Group, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., and 4404th Operations Group, Dhahran Air Base, Saudi Arabia
17. August 1993 - August 1994, National Security Fellow, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
18. August 1994 - July 1996, Commander, 39th Wing and 7440th Composite Wing (Provisional), Incirlik Air Base, Turkey
19. August 1996 - July 1998, Director of Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein Air Base, Germany
20. July 1998 - February 2000, Commander, 56th Fighter Wing, Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.
21. February 2000 - February 2002, Director of Strategic Planning, Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
22. February 2002 - present, Director, Plans and Programs, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OhioFLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command pilot
Flight hours: More than 3,000, including more than 270 combat hours
Aircraft flown: F-4C/D/E, F-16A/B/C and DMAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Combat Readiness Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Southwest Asia Service Medal with service starOTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
1973 Honors graduate, U.S. Air Force Academy
1978 Winning pilot, Air Force William Tell weapons meet
Member, Kerr Commission, Remote Sensing August December 2001EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant Jun 6, 1973
First Lieutenant Jun 6, 1975
Captain Jun 6, 1977
Major Aug 1, 1984
Lieutenant Colonel Jul 1, 1988
Colonel Jan 1, 1992
Brigadier General Jul 1, 1997
Major General July 1, 2000PUBLISHED ARTICLES
"Credibility of Fighter Squadron Supervisors," Air University Review, Summer 1980
"Nonlethal Military Means: New Leverage for a New Era," John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 1994
"Who's in Charge? Service Administration Control," Airpower Journal, Fall 1998
(Current as of June 2002)
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