Brigadier General John R. Croft is the chief of staff, Wisconsin Air National Guard. In this role, he controls the state Air Guard's headquarters staff and has wide-ranging responsibility for evaluating the capabilities of the Air Guard units and advising Wisconsin's top National Guard commanders.

The general began his military career as a second lieutenant in 1972 and served more than six years of active duty in the U.S. Air Force. He flew as a KC-135 tanker pilot in the earliest flight tests of the air refueling system for the C-5, the world's largest transport aircraft. He left active duty and joined the 128th Air Refueling Group, Wisconsin Air National Guard, in 1979. During the Persian Gulf War of 1990-91, he flew 46 combat support missions and commanded the only Wisconsin KC-135 to fly two missions on the first day of the war. After the war, he served as operations officer and director of operations in Air Guard State Headquarters. In 1999, he was detailed as operations group commander for the 128th Air Refueling Wing when the unit deployed for the Kosovo conflict. After a brief period of service as the wing vice-commander, he was assigned as Wisconsin's Air Guard Chief of Staff in March of 2001. In civilian life, General Croft is a captain for American Airlines, with 23 years of service flying the Boeing 727 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and MD-80. He has logged more than 17,000 hours of flight time, including more than 3,300 military hours.

EDUCATION:

1972 Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science, Central Washington State University, Ellensburg, Wash.
1977 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
1992 Air Command and Staff College
1996 Air War College

ASSIGNMENTS:

1. July 1972 - October 1973, student, undergraduate pilot, Vance AFB, OK
2. October 1973 - December 1973, student, SAC training Center KC-135
3. December 1973 - September 1976, copilot, KC-135
4. September 1976 - October 1978, Aircraft Commander KC-135
5. October 1978 - August 1982, Nonaffiliated Reserve Status
6. August 1982 - December 1983, copilot, KC-135, 128 Air Refueling Group, Wisconsin Air National Guard
7. December 1983 - November 1987, Pilot, KC-135, 128 Air Refueling Group, Wisconsin Air National Guard
8. November 1987 - January 1992, Instructor Pilot, KC-135, 128 Air Refueling Group, Wisconsin Air National Guard
9. January 1992 - December 1995, Operations Officer, Headquarters, Wisconsin Air National Guard
10. December 1995 - July 1999, Director of Operations, Headquarters, Wisconsin Air National Guard
11. July 1999 - March 2001, Operations Commander, 128 Air Refueling Wing, Air National Guard
12. March 2001 - Present, Chief of Staff, Headquarters, Wisconsin Air National Guard

FLIGHT INFORMATION:

Rating: Command Pilot
Flight Hours more than 3,300 hours
Aircraft flown: KC-135, T-37 and T-38
Pilots wings from: Vance AFB, OK

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS:

Meritorious Service Medal
Air Medal
Aerial Achievement Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with two bronze oak leaf clusters and one "V" device
Combat Readiness Medal with one silver oak leaf cluster
Southwest Asia Service Medal with two bronze service stars
Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)

CIVILIAN OCCUPATION:

Captain for American Airlines

EFFECTIVE PROMOTION DATES:

Second Lieutenant Jun 10, 1972
First Lieutenant Jun 7, 1975
Captain July 21, 1976
Major Jun 10, 1986
Lieutenant Colonel Mar 8, 1992
Colonel October 4, 1996
Brigadier General March 10, 2001

(Current as of June 2002)

The date of publication indicated on this biography reflects the most recent update. It does not necessarily reflect the date of printing.

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