John W. Handy

John W. Handy
General John W. Handy
Born	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	Defense Distinguished Service Medal Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit (2)

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

Awards and decorations

	Air Force Command Pilot Badge
	Joint Chiefs of Staff Badge
	United States Transportation Command Badge

	Defense Distinguished Service Medal
	Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
	Legion of Merit with one bronze oak leaf cluster
	Meritorious Service Medal with three bronze oak leaf clusters
	Air Medal
	Joint Meritorious Unit Award
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with four oak leaf clusters
	Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with two oak leaf clusters
	Combat Readiness Medal
	National Defense Service Medal with two bronze service stars
	Antarctica Service Medal
	Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
	Vietnam Service Medal with three bronze service stars
	Southwest Asia Service Medal with two bronze service stars
	Air Force Overseas Short Tour Service Ribbon
	Air Force Overseas Long Tour Service Ribbon with oak leaf cluster
	Air Force Longevity Service Award with one silver and three bronze oak leaf clusters
	Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon
	Air Force Training Ribbon
	Philippine Presidential Unit Citation
	Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Award
	Vietnam Campaign Medal
	Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)

• 2005 Air Force Order of the Sword.

Other achievements

• 1992 Honorary doctor of humanities, Methodist College

References

1. U.S. Dept of Defense News Release

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