L. Scott Rice
| Leon Scott Rice | |
|---|---|
 Maj. Gen. Leon Scott Rice (USAF Photo) | |
| Nickname(s) | "Catfish"[1] |
| Allegiance |
 United States |
| Service/branch |
 United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1980 - Present |
| Rank |
 Major General |
| Commands held | |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
|
| Other work | Pilot for United Airlines |
Major General Leon Scott Rice serves as commander of the Massachusetts National Guard and as an assistant to Philip M. Breedlove, Commander of the United States Air Forces in Europe. Rice has also served as Commander, Air Force Forces for United States Central Command in the Middle East Area of Operations. He is concurrently a Boeing 777 First Officer flying for United Airlines in Washington, District of Columbia.[1][2][3] On 3 April 2012 he was appointed by Governor Deval Patrick as acting Adjutant General of the Massachusetts National Guard and reappointed as The Adjutant General by Governor Charles Baker on 12 May 2015.[2]
Early life
Leon Scott Rice was born 27 May 1958 to Leon Harold Rice (1919–2002) and Margery Ann (Miller) Rice (1918–2005) in Bedford, New Hampshire; a military family with his mother serving as a Captain during WWII in the Army Nurse Corps, and eventually becoming in 1990 the first female Commander of the Department of New Hampshire Veterans of Foreign Wars.[4] Rice is a direct descendant of Edmund Rice, an early immigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony.[5][nb 1] Rice attended local public schools and earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 1972.[2]
Career
Major General L. Scott Rice is currently assigned as The Adjutant General, Massachusetts National Guard. He oversees the strategic direction, administration and operation of the Massachusetts National Guard with an annual budget of $450 million to ensure over 9000 joint soldiers, airmen and civilians are trained, equipped and mission-ready to support national security objectives overseas as well as protect life and property and preserve peace, order and public safety as directed in times of natural disaster and civil emergency within Massachusetts.
General Rice was commissioned in 1980 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York. Following graduate school, he attended pilot training at Reese Air Force Base, Texas, receiving pilot wings in 1982 and later served in England and Idaho where he flew the F-111 Aardvark.
General Rice joined the Massachusetts Air National Guard's 104th Fighter Wing in 1989 to fly the A-10 Thunderbolt II. He served as the Squadron, Operations Group, Wing and State Air Guard Commander. From 1995 to 2006, he was mobilized and deployed to Bosnia, Kosovo, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, and Pakistan. General Rice currently serves as Chairman of the Air Guard Force Structure and Modernization committee of the Adjutants General Association of the United States, and as the association’s secretary. He also serves on the Reserve Forces Policy Board for the Department of Defense, as well as several General Officer Steering Committees for the National Guard. He is a member of the Massachusetts Military Asset and Security Strategy Task Force....
Education
- 1980 Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering, Reserve Officers' Training Corps, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York
- 1981 Master of Science in Industrial Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York
- 2000 Air War College, by correspondence
- 2009 Harvard University, National and International Security Studies, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- 2009 George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
- 2010 George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
- 2010 Capstone Military Leadership Program, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, District of Columbia
- 2011 Senior Reserve Component Officer Course, Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania
- 2011 Combined Force Air Component Commanders Course, Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama
- 2011 Harvard University, National Preparedness Leadership Initiative, [Cambridge, Massachusetts]
- 2012 Syracuse University, National Security Studies, [Syracuse, New York]
- 2015 Harvard University, National Preparedness Leadership Initiative, [Cambridge, Massachusetts]
Assignments
- May 1981 - May 1982, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Reese Air Force Base, Lubbock, Texas
- May 1982 - July 1982, Student, AT-38B Lead-In Training Course, Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico
- July 1982 - January 1983, Student, F-111 United States Air Force Operation Training Course, Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico
- January 1983 - November 1984, Aircraft Commander, F-111, 493rd Tactical Fighter Wing, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England
- November 1984 - October 1985, Instructor Aircraft Commander, F-111, 493rd Tactical Fighter Wing, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England
- October 1985 - December 1985, Student, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama
- December 1985 - May 1986, Student, F-111 Fighter Weapons Instructor Course, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho
- May 1986 - April 1987, Chief, Weapons and Tactics/Instructor Pilot, F-111, 493rd Tactical Fighter Wing, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England
- April 1987 - April 1988, Instructor Pilot, F-111, 391st Tactical Fighter Squadron, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho
- April 1988 - November 1989, Chief, Wing Weapons Section, 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho
- November 1989 - January 1992, Pilot, A-10, 131st Tactical Fighter Squadron, Barnes Air National Guard Base, Westfield, Massachusetts
- February 1992 - December 1994, Pilot, A-10, 131st Fighter Squadron, Barnes Air National Guard Base, Westfield, Massachusetts
- December 1994 - December 1995, Assistant Flight Commander, 131st Fighter Squadron, Barnes Air National Guard Base, Westfield, Massachusetts
- December 1995 - June 1997, Instructor Pilot, A-10, 131st Fighter Squadron, Barnes Air National Guard Base, Westfield, Massachusetts
- June 1997 - June 1998, Commander, Operations Support Flight, 131st Fighter Squadron, Barnes Air National Guard Base, Westfield, Massachusetts
- June 1998 - September 1999, Commander, Operations Support Flight, 104th Operations Support Flight, Barnes Air National Guard Base, Westfield, Massachusetts
- June 2002 - April 2004, Commander, 104th Operations Group, Barnes Air National Guard Base, Westfield, Massachusetts
- May 2004 - July 2007, Director of Operations, J2, Massachusetts Joint Force Headquarters, Massachusetts National Guard, Milford, Massachusetts
- July 2007 - September 2010, Assistant Adjutant General-Air, Massachusetts National Guard, Milford, Massachusetts
- September 2010 – Present, Chief of Staff, Massachusetts Air National Guard, Milford, Massachusetts;[7] dual hatted, February 2010 - February 2011, (A-6), Assistant to the Director, Air National Guard; dual-hatted, March 2011 – Present, Assistant to the Commander, United States Air Forces Europe
- April 2012 – Present, The Adjutant General, Massachusetts National Guard, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts
Awards and decorations
 |
US Air Force Command Pilot Badge |
Other achievements
- 1972 Eagle Scout
- 2005 George W. Bush Award for Leadership in the Guard/Reserve
Effective dates of promotion
| Insignia | Rank | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Major General | December 23, 2011 |
 | Brigadier General | July 24, 2007 |
 | Colonel | June 15, 2003 |
 | Lieutenant Colonel | September 9, 1998 |
 | Major | November 18, 1992 |
 | Captain | November 18, 1984 |
 | First Lieutenant | November 18, 1982 |
 | Second Lieutenant | May 17, 1980 |
References
- Notes
- ↑ The descendancy of Gen. Rice from Edmund Rice is as follows: Edmund Rice (1594-1663); Thomas Rice (1626-1681); Thomas Rice (1654-1747); Charles Rice (1684-?); Elijah Rice (1719-1785); Elijah Rice (1750-1805); Isaac Rice (1784-1876); Hiram Rice (1816-1894); John Henry Rice (1863-1951); Leon Hiram Rice (1890-1980); Leon Harold Rice (1919-2002); Maj. Gen. Leon Scott Rice (b. 1958).[6]
- Citations
- 1 2 "Catfish balancing on a stool with different legs". National Guard News 26 May 2011. Retrieved 1 Nov 2011.
- 1 2 3 "Major General L. Scott Rice". United States Air Force, National Guard Bureau, General Officer Management Office. Retrieved 30 Oct 2011.
- ↑ "Citizen soldier L. Scott Rice, of Southampton, leads Massachusetts Air National Guard". by Cynthia Simison, MassLive.com 10 Nov 2010. Retrieved 31 Oct 2011.
- ↑ "Margery Rice Obituary 27 May 2005". GazetteNet.com (Daily Hampshire Gazette). Retrieved 30 Nov 2011.
- ↑ Descendants of Edmund Rice:The First Nine Generations (2011). Edmund Rice (1638) Association.
- ↑ p.1318 In: Ray Lowther Ellis (ed.), 1970. A Genealogical Register of Edmund Rice Descendants. Edmund Rice (1638) Association and The Charles E. Tuttle Company, Rutland, Vermont.
- ↑ "U.S. Sen. Scott Brown to speak at annual veterans' breakfast in West Springfield". MassLive.com 5 Nov 2010. Retrieved 30 Oct 2011.
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