Gen. Edward A. Rice Jr. is Commander, Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. He is responsible for the recruiting, training and education of Air Force personnel. His command includes the Air Force Recruiting Service, a numbered air force and Air University. AETC trains more than 293,000 students per year and consists of 12 bases, more than 67,900 active-duty, Reserve, Guard, civilians and contractors, and 1,369 trainer, fighter and mobility aircraft.
General Rice is a 1978 distinguished graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He has commanded a squadron, group, wing, the Air Force Recruiting Service, two numbered air forces and a joint command. His numerous staff positions include serving as a White House Fellow at the Department of Health and Human Services, as a professional staff member for the Commission on Roles and Missions of the Armed Forces, and as the Deputy Executive Secretary for the National Security Council. He has also served as Chief of Staff of the Office of the Representative and Executive Director for the Coalition Provisional Authority, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C.
General Rice has significant experience in combat and contingency operations, to include commanding bomber operations during the first four months of Operation Enduring Freedom as Commander, 28th Air Expeditionary Wing. Additionally, during Operation Unified Assistance, General Rice served as the Deputy Commander for the joint task force, Combined Support Force-536, assigned to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to victims of the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia. The general is a command pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours in the B-1B, B-52G/H, E-3, B-2, KC-135, C-130H, T-37 and T-38.
EDUCATION
1978 Bachelor of Science degree in engineering sciences, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
1983 Distinguished graduate, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
1984 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
1986 Master's degree in aeronautical science and technology, Embry-Riddle University
1989 Distinguished graduate, master's degree in national security and strategic studies, College of Naval Command and Staff, Naval War College, Newport, R.I.
1994 National Security Fellow, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
2001 Program for Senior Officials in National Security, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
2004 Joint Force Air Component Commander Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2005 Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2006 Joint Force Maritime Component Commander Course, Naval War College, Newport, R.I.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 1978 - February 1980, distinguished graduate, undergraduate pilot training, Williams AFB, Ariz.
2. February 1980 - January 1984, B-52G co-pilot and aircraft commander, 69th Bombardment Squadron, Loring AFB, Maine
3. January 1984 - February 1985, Air Staff Training Program assistant deputy chief, Executive Services Division, Directorate of Administration, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
4. February 1985 - July 1988, B-52G instructor pilot; Chief, Standardization and Evaluation Branch; and flight commander, 441st Bombardment Squadron, Mather AFB, Calif.
5. July 1988 - July 1989, student, College of Naval Command and Staff, Naval War College, Newport, R.I.
6. July 1989 - August 1990, programmer, Air Crew Management Branch, Deputy Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
7. August 1990 - November 1991, White House Fellow, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C.
8. November 1991 - July 1992, Chief, Standardization and Evaluation Division, 410th Operations Group, K.I. Sawyer AFB, Mich.
9. July 1992 - August 1993, Commander, 34th Bomb Squadron, Castle AFB, Calif.
10. August 1993 - July 1994, National Security Fellow, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
11. July 1994 - July 1995, professional staff member, Commission on Roles and Missions of the Armed Forces, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C.
12. July 1995 - January 1996, Deputy Commander, 509th Operations Group, Whiteman AFB, Mo.
13. January 1996 - June 1997, Commander, 552nd Operations Group, Tinker AFB, Okla.
14. June 1997 - June 1999, Deputy Executive Secretary, National Security Council, the White House, Washington, D.C.
15. June 1999 - May 2000, Deputy Director for Expeditionary Aerospace Force Implementation, Deputy Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
16. May 2000 - May 2002, Commander, 28th Bomb Wing, Ellsworth AFB, S.D.
17. May 2002 - January 2004, Commander, Air Force Recruiting Service, Headquarters Air Education and Training Command, Randolph AFB, Texas
18. January 2004 - December 2004, Chief of Staff for the Office of the Representative and Executive Director for the Coalition Provisional Authority, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C.
19. January 2005 - September 2005, Commander, 13th Air Force, Andersen AFB, Guam
20. September 2005 - July 2006, Director of Air, Space and Information Operations, Plans and Requirements, Headquarters Pacific Air Forces, and Commander, 13th Air Force, Hickam AFB, Hawaii
21. July 2006 - October 2006, Commander, 13th Air Force, and Commander, Kenney Headquarters (P), Hickam AFB, Hawaii
22. October 2006 - February 2008, Vice Commander, Pacific Air Forces, Hickam AFB, Hawaii
23. February 2008 - October 2010, Commander, U.S. Forces Japan, and Commander, 5th Air Force, Yokota Air Base, Japan
24. November 2010 - present, Commander, Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. August 1990 - November 1991, White House Fellow, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C., as a lieutenant colonel
2. July 1994 - July 1995, professional staff member, Commission on Roles and Missions of the Armed Forces, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C., as a colonel
3. June 1997 - June 1999, Deputy Executive Secretary, National Security Council, the White House, Washington, D.C., as a colonel
4. January 2004 - December 2004, Chief of Staff for the Office of the representative and Executive Director for the Coalition Provisional
Authority, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C., as a brigadier general
5. February 2008 - October 2010, Commander, U.S. Forces Japan, Yokota AB, Japan, as a lieutenant general
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command pilot
Flight hours: More than 4,000
Aircraft flown: B-1B, B-52G/H, E-3, B-2, KC-135, T-37, T-38 and C-130H
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (Japan)
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
2002 Moeller Trophy for outstanding wing commander, Air Combat Command
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 31, 1978
First Lieutenant May 31, 1980
Captain May 31, 1982
Major April 1, 1986
Lieutenant Colonel April 1, 1990
Colonel Feb. 1, 1994
Brigadier General Feb. 1, 2002
Major General Aug. 1, 2005
Lieutenant General Feb. 25, 2008
General Nov. 17, 2010
(Current as of September 2013)