MAJOR GENERAL JOHN L. WELDE Major General John L. Welde is vice commander of the 9th Air Force and deputy commander of U.S. Central Command Air Forces, Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. Ninth Air Force has a twofold mission. It is an intermediate headquarters under Air Combat Command in charge of six active-duty wings and 30 designated ACC-gained Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units. As the air component of U.S. Central Command, its mission is to develop contingency plans and conduct air operations in a 20-nation area of responsibility from northeast Africa to southwest Asia. The general is a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program and earned a bachelor's and a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Catholic University, Washington, D.C. He was a distinguished graduate of pilot training in 1968 and flew 370 combat missions during the Vietnam War in both the F-100 and A-7D. The general's staff experience includes a tour on the Air Staff in the fighter division, Air Force Studies and Analysis, and an assignment as deputy chief of staff for personnel, Headquarters Tactical Air Command. Previous assignments also include serving as the first inspector general at Headquarters Air Combat Command and as commander of four Air Force fighter wings.EDUCATION1965 Bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering, Catholic University, Washington, D.C. 1967 Master's degree in mechanical engineering, Catholic University, Washington, D.C. 1972 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. 1977 Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va. 1986 Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pa.ASSIGNMENTS1. July 1967 - August 1968, student, pilot training, Moody Air Force Base, Ga. 2. August 1968 - June 1969, student, F-100, combat crew training, Luke Air Force Base, Ariz. 3. June 1969 - July 1970, F-100 fighter pilot, 352nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, Phan Rang Air Base, Republic of Vietnam 4. July 1970 - December 1973, A-7D instructor fighter pilot and standardization and evaluation flight examiner, 353rd and 511th Tactical Fighter Squadrons, Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, S.C., including two six-month squadron deployments to Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand 5. December 1973 - December 1974, F-4D instructor fighter pilot, 78th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Royal Air Force Woodbridge, England 6. December 1974 - November 1976, chief, standardization and evaluation division, 81st Tactical Fighter Wing, Royal Air Force Bentwaters, England 7. November 1976 - June 1977, student, Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va. 8. July 1977 - May 1980, air operations staff officer, fighter division, directorate of studies and analysis, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. 9. May 1980 - May 1983, assistant operations officer, operations officer, and commander, 355th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, S.C. 10. May 1983 - July 1985, chief, operations and training inspection division, and inspection team chief, Headquarters Tactical Air Command, Langley Air Force Base, Va. 11. July 1985 - June 1986, student, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pa. 12. June 1986 - June 1988, vice commander and commander, Air Forces Iceland, Keflavik Naval Air Station, Iceland 13. June 1988 - May 1990, vice commander and commander, 23rd Tactical Fighter Wing "Flying Tigers," England Air Force Base, La. 14. May 1990 - August 1991, commander, 31st Tactical Fighter Wing, Homestead Air Force Base, Fla. 15. August 1991 - June 1992, deputy chief of staff, personnel, Headquarters Tactical Air Command, Langley Air Force Base, Va. 16. June 1992 - September 1993, inspector general, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Va., including six months temporary duty as commander, 4404th Composite Wing (Provisional), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia 17. September 1993 - February 1995, commander, 57th Wing, Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. 18. February 1995 - October 1996, chief, Office of Defense Cooperation Turkey 19. October 1996 - present, vice commander, 9th Air Force, and deputy commander, U.S. Central Command Air Forces, Shaw Air Force Base, S.C.FLIGHT INFORMATIONRating: Command pilotFlight hours: More than 4,000Aircraft flown: F-100, A-7, F-4, A-10, F-15 and F-16MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONSDefense Distinguished Service MedalDistinguished Service MedalLegion of Merit with oak leaf clusterDistinguished Flying CrossMeritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clustersAir Medal with 21 oak leaf clustersCombat Readiness Medal with three oak leaf clustersEFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTIONSecond Lieutenant Jul 29, 1967First Lieutenant Jun 9, 1968Captain Dec 9, 1969Major Nov 30, 1974Lieutenant Colonel Apr 9, 1980Colonel Oct 1, 1984Brigadier General Jul 2, 1992Major General Jun 1, 1995 (Current as of August 1997)