Brigadier General John M. Del Toro is the assistant adjutant general, Air, Montana National Guard, Fort Harrison, Montana. He is responsible for the leadership, professional development, and senior-level management of the 120th Fighter Wing, the 219th RED HORSE Squadron, and the Montana Air National Guard personnel assigned to Joint Force Headquarters, Montana. The General ensures the nearly 1,200 personnel assigned to his three units maintain required qualifications to support any federal or contingency tasking. Unit members have supported the Global War on Terrorism in multiple capacities including direct involvement in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, and a continuous support of Operation NOBLE EAGLE since September 2001. General Del Toro maintains a keen awareness of his unit's readiness and capabilities, and is directly involved in their tasking resulting from an ever-growing global commitment.
As the Assistant Adjutant General, Air, General Del Toro is the Senior Air Force Officer in Montana responsible for ensuring all members of the Montana Air National Guard remain prepared to support the Adjutant General, the Governor-and ultimately, the citizens of Montana-during state emergencies. This spectrum of state missions ranges from incident response, to Defense Support to Civilian Agencies, to consequence management. He ensures the Montana Air National Guard maintains a balance between continuous readiness and the ability to support their “go to war” federal tasking, while never losing sight of their responsibilities to the Governor and the citizens of Montana. From his experience as a crew-qualified Domestic Events Officer at US Northern Command/Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center, the General gained valuable expertise and awareness regarding other national and interagency assets, which may support the state during incident response/consequence management operations. This involvement in day-to-day crew operations also provided a foundation of knowledge regarding other entities supporting NORAD/US NORTHCOM and the continuous growth of the Homeland Defense mission.
General Del Toro is a Drill Status Guardsman, a Command Pilot, and possesses over 3,500 hours of flight time. He has qualified as an instructor, evaluator and Mission Commander in multiple aircraft, including; multiple blocks of the F-16, the F-111D/F, and the T-38A. He also currently flies as a United Airlines Boeing 737 Captain, and possesses additional type ratings in B-777, B-757/B-767, A-319/320, and the B-727. He assumed his current position in October 2006.
General Del Toro graduated from the US Air Force Academy on 27 May 1981 where he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on Active Duty. He joined the Montana National Guard in January 1996.
1981 Bachelor of Science, Political Science/International Affairs, US Air Force Academy
2001 Air War College, correspondence
1. May 1981 - Aug 1982, student pilot, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas
2. Aug 1982 - Jan 1983, student pilot, Pilot Instructor Training, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas
3. Jan 1983 - Jun 1986, instructor pilot/flight commander, Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas
4. Jun 1986 - Aug 1986, student pilot, Lead-in Fighter Training, Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico
5. Aug 1986 - Feb 1987, pilot, F-111 Replacement Training Unit, Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico
6. Feb 1987 - Oct 1988, F-111F aircraft/flight commander, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, United Kingdom
7. Oct 1988 - Apr1990, air liaison officer, Headquarters Company, VII Corps, Moehringen, Germany
8. Apr 1990 - Aug 1990, student pilot, F-16, Luke Air Force Base, Arizona
9. Aug 1990 - Jan 1994, F-16C/D instructor/evaluator pilot, flight commander, assistant operations officer, Hill Air Force Base, Utah
10. Jan 1994 - Dec 1995, flight safety officer, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas
11. Jan 1996 - Dec 1997, F-16A instructor/flight commander, Montana Air National Guard
12. Dec 1997 - Dec 2000, squadron commander, 186th Fighter Squadron, Montana Air National Guard
13. Jan 2001 - Jul 2003, director of operations, Air, Headquarters, Montana National Guard
14. Jul 2003 - Feb 2004, deputy chief of staff for operations, Montana Air National Guard
15. Feb 2004 - Aug 2004, domestic events officer, US Northern Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
16. Aug 2004 - May 2005, deputy J-5/7, Joint Force Headquarters, Montana National Guard
17. May 2005 - Jun 2006, deputy director, Joint Force Headquarters, Montana National Guard
18. Jun 2006 - Present, assistant adjutant general, Joint Force Headquarters, Montana National Guard
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight Hours: 3750+
Aircraft Flown: F-16A/C, F-111D/F, T-38A
Meritorious Service Medal
Air Medal with one device
Aerial Achievement Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with one device
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor and 2 devices
Air Force Organizational Excellence Award
Combat Readiness Medal with 4 devices
National Defense Ribbon with one device
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Southwest Asia Service Medal with one device
Air Force Overseas Ribbon Long
Air Force Longevity Service Medal with four devices
Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon (Pistol)
AF Training Ribbon
Kuwait Liberation Medal Government of Kuwait
Outstanding T-38 instructor pilot, selected six times from 1983 through 1986
Distinguished Graduate, F-111 Replacement Training Unit
Top Gun, 1988 - Low Angle Bomb; 1992 - Low Angle Bomb/Low Angle Low Drag; 1993 - Overall
Second Lieutenant May 27, 1981
First Lieutenant May 27, 1983
Captain May 27, 1985
Major October 1, 1993
Lieutenant Colonel February 7, 1998
Colonel Jun 27, 2003
Brigadier General Jun 22, 2006
(Current as of May 2007)
The date of publication indicated on this biography reflects the most recent update. It does not necessarily reflect the date of printing.