John L. Barry is a 1973 honor graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He graduated from Fighter Weapons School, and was a test and evaluation pilot at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. He was selected a White House fellow at NASA during the Challenger disaster and served as the Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He has commanded an Air Force fighter squadron, and in a combat zone, a fighter operations group and a composite wing. He served as commander of Air Force forces where he led the recovery of a wing following the Blackhawk shoot down at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. Between wing commander positions, Barry served as the Director of Strategic Plans and Programs at the U.S Air Forces in Europe command. He served as Commander of the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, the largest fighter wing in the United States. During his tenure, he led the largest engine recovery in U.S. Air Force history while still graduating more than 1,500 fully trained fighter pilots. Prior to assuming his current position, Barry served as Director of Strategic Planning, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force. The general is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a command pilot with more than 3,000 flight hours in the F-4 and F-16, including more than 270 hours of combat time in support of operations Southern Watch and Provide Comfort over Iraq. He retired on January 1, 2004.
From the description of Barry, John L., Air Force general (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). naId: 10614759
