General Bradley will command Air Force Reserve

  • Published
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) --  On June 24, the Senate confirmed Maj. Gen. John A. Bradley as chief of Air Force Reserve and commander of Air Force Reserve Command, and appointed him to the rank of lieutenant general.

General Bradley is the former assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for reserve matters at the Pentagon. He replaces Lt. Gen. James E. Sherrard III as chief of Air Force Reserve.

His new duties include being a member of the Air Staff and serving as principal adviser to the Air Force chief of staff regarding reserve matters.

As AFRC commander, General Bradley is responsible for the supervision of all Air Force Reserve units worldwide. The command has about 75,800 reservists.

“I am truly honored to be named chief of Air Force Reserve and commander of Air Force Reserve Command,” said General Bradley, who was deputy to the chief of Air Force Reserve in the Pentagon from February 1993 to February 1998. “With great pride I accept command of the outstanding men and women of AFRC. They are performing superbly, defending America and fighting the global war on terrorism.

“Our talented and dedicated Air Force reservists have faced many new challenges since Sept. 11,” General Bradley said. “Many of them have been mobilized and separated from their families, enduring hardships not normally associated with traditional reservists’ duties. They are an inspiration to us all.”

General Bradley said he looks forward to visiting with as many reservists as he can, seeing firsthand how they are performing their assigned duties.

“By meeting with our reservists, I will be able to better understand their capabilities, needs and concerns, which are critical to maintaining a strong, combat-ready force,” he said.

Before working for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Bradley was deputy commander of Joint Task Force-Computer Network Operations for U.S. Space Command in Arlington, Va., from March to December 2002.

He commanded the Air Force Reserve’s 10th Air Force at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth, Texas, from February 1998 to March 2002. General Bradley also has commanded a fighter training squadron, fighter group and fighter wing. He is a command pilot with more than 6,800 flying hours in T-38, A-37, A-10, F-4 and F-16 aircraft. As a fighter pilot, he flew 337 combat missions in Vietnam.

Born in Lebanon, Tenn., he received his commission in 1967 after completing the Air Force ROTC program as a distinguished graduate at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. General Bradley is married to the former Jan Underwood of Decatur, Alabama. They have one daughter Leigh Ann, a graduate student at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas. (Courtesy of AFRC News Service)