Brigadier General Mark F. Sears is the assistant adjutant general for Air, New Hampshire Air National Guard.
General Sears received his commission in the United States Air Force through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program in 1976. He then attended Undergraduate Navigator Training, Undergraduate Pilot Training and completed numerous active duty assignments. In 1988 he opted to leave the active component, becoming a full-time airline pilot with Delta Air Lines and a Traditional Guardsman with the New Hampshire Air National Guard. His leadership positions within the unit include KC-135R instructor pilot, flight commander, operations support flight commander and state headquarters director of operations. He has accumulated more than 5,200 flying hours operating a variety of military aircraft.
1976 Bachelor of Science, Business Administration, University of NH
1980 Masters Degree, Business Management, Central Michigan University
1998 Air War College, Seminar
1. Sep 1976 - Oct 1977, student, Undergraduate Navigator Training, Navigator Bombardier Training, Mather Air Force Base, CA
2. Oct 1977 - Mar 1978, student, 4017th Combat Crew Training Squadron, Castle Air Force Base, CA
3. Mar 1978 - Feb 1980, B-52G instructor/stan-eval navigator, 68th Bomb Wing, Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, NC
4. Feb 1980 - Feb 1981, student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Reese Air Force Base, TX
5. Feb 1981 - Aug 1983,T-37 instructor pilot, 35th Flying Training Squadron, Reese Air Force Base, TX
6. Aug 1983 - Aug 1984, T-37 flight examiner/wing spin pilot, Protocol Officer, 64th Flying Training Wing, Reese Air Force Base, TX
7. Aug 1984 - Mar 1985, student, FB-111A Combat Crew Training Squadron, Plattsburg, Air Force Base, NY
8. Mar 1985 - Apr 1986, FB-111A instructor pilot, 51st Bomb Squadron, Pease Air Force Base, NH
9. Apr 1986 - Mar 1988, FB-111A flight examiner, simulator branch chief, 509th Bomb Wing, Pease Air Force Base, NH
10. Mar 1988 - Jan 1998, KC-135E/R instructor pilot, flight commander, 133rd Air Refueling Squadron, Pease Air National Guard Base, NH
11. Jan 1998 - Mar 2000, 157th Operations support flight commander, 157th Operations Group, Pease Air National Guard Base, NH
12. Mar 2000 - Sep 2003, director of operations, Headquarters New Hampshire Air National Guard, Concord, NH
13. Sep 2003 - present, assistant adjutant general for Air, New Hampshire Air National Guard, Concord, NH
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight Hours: 5,200
Aircraft Flown: T-37, T-38, T-43, FB-111A, B-52G, KC-135E/R
Meritorious Service Medal with 2 devices
Air Force Commendation Medal with 1 device
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with 2 devices
Air Force Organizational Excellence Award
Combat Readiness Medal with 11 devices
National Defense Service Medal with 2 devices
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Southwest Asia Service Medal with 1 device
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Armed Forces Service Medal
Air Force Longevity Service Ribbon with 6 devices
Armed Forces Reserve Medal with one device with “M”/2/bronze hourglass
Small Arms Expert Pistol
Air Force Training Ribbon with 1 device
Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)
New Hampshire National Guard Service Bar with state seal
Air Force Association-Life Member
Order of Daedalians - Granite State Flight Life Member
National Guard Association of the US- Life Member
National Guard Association of New Hampshire Director
Dover Youth Hockey, Dover, NH Board of Directors
Second Lieutenant June 2, 1976
First Lieutenant September 3, 1978
Captain September 3, 1980
Major September 3, 1990
Lieutenant Colonel March 8, 1996
Colonel May 30, 2001
Brigadier General October 28, 2005
(Current as of April 2007)
The date of publication indicated on this biography reflects the most recent update. It does not necessarily reflect the date of printing.