John W. Handy

John W. Handy
General John W. Handy
Born	(1944-04-29) April 29, 1944 Raleigh, North Carolina
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1967-2005
Rank	General
Commands held	Transportation Command
Battles/wars	Vietnam War
Awards	Legion of Merit (2) Air Medal (2) Antarctica Service Medal

John W. Handy (born April 29, 1944)^[1] is a retired United States Air Force officer. Serving from 1967 to 2005, he reached the rank of General, and held a number of high-ranking command posts.

Handy was commissioned in 1967, and received his pilot wings in 1968. His early commands included 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 then served as Director of Operations and Logistics for the U.S. Transportation Command; Director of Programs and Evaluations; and Deputy Chief of Staff for Installations and Logistics with the Air Staff in Washington, D.C. His final two postings were as Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, from 2000 to 2001, and Commander of the U.S. Transportation Command and Air Mobility Command, from October 2001 until September 2005.

Handy is a command pilot with more than 5,000 flying hours, principally in airlift aircraft. As a C-130 Hercules pilot, he logged more than 300 combat hours in Southeast Asia.

Education

• 1966 Bachelor's degree in history, Methodist College, Fayetteville, North Carolina
• 1972 Squadron Officer School
• 1979 Air Command and Staff College
• 1979 Master's degree in systems management, University of Southern California
• 1982 Air War College
• 1984 National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
• 1993 Program for Senior Executives, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Flight information

• Rating: Command pilot
• Flight hours: More than 5,000
• Aircraft flown: C-130 Hercules, C-141, C-17, C-7A, C-9, C-37 and KC-10

Major awards and decorations

•   Defense Distinguished Service Medal
•   Air Force 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
•   Vietnam Service Medal with three bronze stars
•   Philippine Presidential Unit Citation
•   Légion d'honneur
•   Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm
  • 2005 Air Force Order of the Sword

Other achievements

• 1992 Honorary doctor of humanities, Methodist College

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "".