Gen. John W. Handy was Commander, U.S. Transportation Command, and Commander, Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. USTRANSCOM was the single manager for global air, land and sea transportation for the Department of Defense.
Gen. 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 for Installations and Logistics, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
Gen. Handy is a command pilot with more than 5,000 flying hours, principally in airlift aircraft. As a C-130 pilot, he logged more than 300 combat hours in Southeast Asia.
EDUCATION
1966 Bachelor of Art, History, Methodist College, Fayetteville, N.C.
1972 Squadron Officer School, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas
1979 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
1979 Master of Science, Systems Management, University of Southern California
1982 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
1984 National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
1993 Program for Senior Executives, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: command pilot
Flight hours: more than 5,000
Aircraft flown: C-130, C-141, C-17, C-7A, C-9, C-37 and KC-10
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
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
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Vietnam Service Medal with three bronze stars
Southwest Asia Service Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Legion of Honor (France)
Philippine Presidential Unit Citation
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm
Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Kuwait Liberation Medal (Government of Kuwait)
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
1992 Honorary Doctor of Humanities, Methodist College
2005 Air Force Order of the Sword, Air Mobility Command
(Current as of September 2025)