Lieutenant General John D. Hopper Jr., USAF (Ret.)

Last Name: Hopper

First Name: John

Middle Name: D.
Suffix: Jr.

Nickname:

Medals and Honors: Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 2 Devices, Vietnam Service Medal with 3 Devices, Kuwait Liberation Medal, Order of the Sort

ACNSL Offices and Committees: All-Volunteer Force and National Security

Rank: Lieutenant General (Ret.)

Service/Department: United States Air Force

Last or Significant Assignment: Vice Commander of Air Education and Training Command

Areas of Experience: Aviation, Education, Logistics, Nonprofit

Articles, Books, and Publications:

Lieutenant General (Ret) John Hopper Jr. retired from the US Air Force in 2005 after more than 35 years of distinguished service.  His final posting was as the Vice Commander, Air Education and Training Command, (AETC) Randolph Air Force Base, Texas.  The command supported more than 63,000 Air Force people serving principally in the continental United States but also with operations in Central/South America, Europe, and the Pacific.

Significant military assignments included:  Commander, 21st Air Force; Director of Operations for Air Mobility Command; Vice Director of Logistics for the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Commandant of Cadets (Dean of Students), US Air Force Academy.  He has commanded four wings to include command of the 1660th Tactical Airlift Wing (Provisional), Thumrait, Oman during Desert Shield/Desert Storm.  Gen Hopper has more than 4,000 flying hours with experience in more than 10 different USAF aircraft.  He is a Vietnam Veteran with 550 combat hours.  Gen Hopper’s military decorations include the Defense Superior Service medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross.  Just prior to his retirement, Gen Hopper was recognized by the enlisted Airmen of AETC and inducted into the Military Order of the Sword.

Gen Hopper received a BS from the US Air Force Academy.  He earned a Master of Science Degree, with Distinction, from the Air Force Institute of Technology where he was also inducted into Alpha Iota Delta, the national honor society for the decision sciences.  His leadership training included graduating with distinction from Squadron Officers School and the Air Command & Staff College.  He is a graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces and Senior Leader education provided jointly by the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs, Syracuse University and the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University.    . 

After his retirement, Gen Hopper served for 15 years as the Chief Executive Officer of the Air Force Aid Society (AFAS).  The Society is a private, non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance, education grants/scholarships and community support to USAF Airmen and their families around the world.  As CEO, Gen Hopper oversaw an annual budget of more than $15M and an endowment of more than $190M.  His  philanthropic work includes service from 2005-2011as a member/ Chairman) of the Board of Governors of the Civil Air Patrol. From 2009-2011, Gen Hopper also served as a member of the Congressionally chartered Military Leadership Development Commission.  The Commission was charged to study and make recommendations on how to improve the representation of under-represented groups in the senior command levels of DOD.  A measure of the Commission’s success is the opening of nearly all combat specialties to women.

General Hopper will conclude six years (effective October 2023) as Chairman of the Veterans and Community Oversight and Engagement Board (VCOEB).  The VCOEB is a Federal Commission charged with providing oversight and recommendations to the Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs’ as VA seeks to reverse the decline and redevelop 388 acres in West Hollywood, deeded to the government over one hundred years ago to provide a “Soldier’s Home” for our wounded/disabled Veterans.  General Hopper also continues to serve as a Trustee of the Falcon Foundation, dedicated to preparing young men and women academically to attend the nation’s Service Academies.