Major General John C. Fryer Jr., is commandant of the National War College, National Defense University, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. He is responsible for providing senior-level professional education to lieutenant colonels and colonels, and civilian officials of equivalent rank for high-level command and staff responsibilities through the study of national security policy, military strategy, and joint force employment. He oversees a program designed to expand students' knowledge of national security issues and sharpen their analytical abilities.
The general entered the Air Force in 1963 as a distinguished graduate of the University of Florida Reserve Officer Training Corps program. In his earlier assignments he was an instructor pilot, a fighter pilot with a Southeast Asia combat tour, deputy commander for operations and then commander of a Tactical Air Command fighter wing. He supervised two conversions from the F-4 to the F-16 in the U.S. Air Forces in Europe. He was selected as a White House fellow in 1972 and is a distinguished graduate of the Air Command and Staff College and the National War College. He later served as senior non-British officer, Headquarters United Kingdom Air Forces, London, before assuming duties as military adviser to the U.S. ambassador to NATO.
EDUCATION
1963 Bachelor's degree in political science, University of Florida
1971 Masters degree in political science, Auburn University, Ala.
1971 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ga.
1976 Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
1977 National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
1991 Senior Managers in Government Course, Harvard University, Mass.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. November 1963 - December 1964, undergraduate pilot training, Laredo Air Force Base, Texas
2. December 1964 - November 1968, instructor pilot training; T-37 instructor pilot and academic instructor, Moody Air Force Base, Ga.
3. November 1968 - June 1969, student, F-4 training, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.
4. August 1969 - June 1970, flight commander, 25th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand
5. June 1970 - June 1971, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
6. June 1971 - December 1971, air operations staff officer, Directorate of Plans, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
7. December 1971 - September 1972, special assistant to the director, East Asia and Pacific Region, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
8. September 1972 - September 1973, White House fellow, first serving as special assistant to the director, FBI, then as special assistant to the attorney general of the United States
9. September 1973 - February 1974, student, B-52 combat crew training, Castle Air Force Base, Calif.
10. February 1974 - July 1976, commander, 716th Bombardment Squadron, Kincheloe Air Force Base, Mich.
11. August 1976 - June 1977, student, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
12. June 1977 - July 1979, military assistant to the deputy undersecretary of defense for policy review, Washington, D.C.
13. July 1979 - August 1982, deputy commander for operations, 50th Tactical Fighter Wing, Hahn Air Base, West Germany
14. August 1982 - September 1985, vice commander, then commander, 401st Tactical Fighter Wing, Torrejon Air Base, Spain
15. September 1985 - November 1987, commander, Center for Aerospace Doctrine, Research and Education, Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
16. November 1987 - August 1989, assistant chief of staff for plans and policy, Headquarters United Kingdom Air Forces, London
17. August 1989 - July 1992, deputy to the defense adviser and military adviser to the U.S. Permanent Representative on the North Atlantic Council, Headquarters NATO, Brussels, Belgium
18. July 1992 - present, commandant, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command pilot
Flight hours: More than 3,400
Aircraft flown: T-37, B-52, F-4, F-16
Pilot wings from: Laredo Air Force Base, Texas
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters
Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Service Medal
Air Medal with nine oak leaf clusters
National Defense Service Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
Spanish Aeronautical Cross of Merit
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm
Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 4, 1963
First Lieutenant May 4, 1965
Captain May 12,1967
Major Mar 1, 1971
Lieutenant Colonel May 1, 1975
Colonel Jun 1, 1979
Brigadier General Jul 1, 1987
Major General May 1, 1990
(Current as of September 1993)