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Major General BRET C. LARSON

Maj. Gen. Bret C. Larson is the Commander, 22nd Air Force, Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia. 22nd Air Force has command supervision of the Air Force Reserve’s tactical air mobility operations and other vital mission sets to include distinguished visitor airlift, undergraduate pilot training, flight test operations and a highly mobile civil engineering response force. With more than 12,000 Reserve Airmen and 64 unit-equipped aircraft, 22nd Air Force contributes daily to the Air Force’s worldwide operational mission. Reserve aircrews within 22nd Air Force accomplish a variety of C-130 Hercules missions, to include aerial spray, fire suppression, weather reconnaissance, tactical airlift and airdrop and aeromedical evacuation.


Maj. Gen. Larson received his bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University and commissioned through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program in 1988. While on active duty, he served as a formal school instructor pilot in the T-38 and the C-130. He separated from active duty in October 1999 and joined the Air Force Reserve. He has held numerous key positions in the reserve including instructor pilot, evaluator pilot, squadron commander, group commander, vice wing commander, major command staff officer, Headquarters Air Force and Joint Staff officer. He has deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom seven times including two command tours. He is a command pilot with more than 5,000 total flying hours and has amassed over 600 hours of combat flight time. He assumed his current duties in July 2021.

Prior to his current position, Maj. Gen. Larson served as the Mobilization Assistant to the Commander of Air Education and Training Command at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas.

In his civilian capacity, he is a pilot with a major airline.

EDUCATION
1988 Bachelor of Science, Iowa State University, Ames
1997 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., by correspondence
2005 Air Command Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2010 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala., by correspondence
2012 Master of Arts, Education Leadership and Administration, Trident University International, Cypress, Calif.
2015 Air Force Enterprise Leadership Seminar, Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
2016 Director of Mobility Forces Course, Detachment 1, USAF Expeditionary Center, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
2016 Advanced Joint Professional Military Education, Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
2020 Capstone General and Flag Officer Course, National Defense University, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
2020 Advanced Senior Leadership Development Seminar, Warrenton, Va.


ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 1988–June 1989, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Vance AFB, Okla.
2. June 1989–December 1989, Student, T-38 Pilot Instructor Training, Randolph AFB, Texas
3. January 1990–May 1994, T-38 Instructor Pilot, Vance AFB, Okla.
4. May 1994–October 1994, Student, C-130 Initial Qualification, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
5. October 1994–October 1997, C-130 Instructor Pilot, 517th Airlift Squadron, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska
6. October 1997–September 1999, C-130 Formal School Instructor, 53rd Airlift Squadron, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
7. October 1999–September 2007, Chief of Training, Evaluator Pilot, 440th Airlift Wing, General Mitchell International Airport, Wis. (July 2003–November 2003, Diplomatic Clearance Officer, Tanker Airlift Control Center, Scott AFB, Ill.)
8. September 2007–February 2008, Assistant Operations Officer, 95th Airlift Squadron, Pope AFB, N.C.
9. February 2008–June 2011, Commander, 95th Airlift Squadron, Pope AFB, N.C. (October 2008–January 2009, Commander, 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, Al Udeid, Qatar)
10. July 2011–January 2013, Vice Commander, 914th Airlift Wing, Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, N.Y.
11. January 2013–March 2014, Commander, 404th and 409th Air Expeditionary Group, Ramstein Air Base, Germany
12. April 2014–April 2015, Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Director of Plans, Programs and Requirements, Office of the Air Force Reserve, Washington, D.C.
13. May 2015–September 2018, Mobilization Assistant to the Director of Plans, Programs, Requirements and Assessments, Headquarters Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas
14. October 2018–November 2020, Deputy Director for Strategic Initiatives on the Joint Staff, Washington D.C.
15. November 2020–July 2021, Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Air Education and Training Command, JB San Antonio-Randolph, Texas
16. July 2021–present, Commander, 22nd Air Force, Dobbins ARB, Ga.


SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. October 2018–November 2020, Deputy Director for Strategic Initiatives, Joint Staff, Washington D.C.

FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: command pilot
Flight Hours: more than 5,300
Aircraft Flown: C-130H/E, MQ-1, T-37 and T-38

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Achievement Medal

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant, May 21, 1988
First Lieutenant, June 1, 1990
Captain, June 1, 1992
Major, Oct. 1, 2000
Lieutenant Colonel, Aug 17, 2006
Colonel, July 1, 2011
Brigadier General, April 1, 2017
Major General, Jan. 28, 2020

(CURRENT AS OF JULY 2021)