R-MA Announces Commencement Speaker: Retired USAF General Gregory S. Martin

Randolph-Macon Academy will welcome retired United States Air Force General Gregory S. Martin as the commencement speaker for graduation on Saturday, May 25, 2013 at 10:00 a.m.

Martin was the Commander of the Air Force Materiel Command after having served thirty-five years active duty. Initially serving as a fighter pilot with a combat tour in Southeast Asia, he was later selected as fighter wing commander on three successive assignments. For the remainder of his career, General Martin served in senior level staff assignments on the Joint Staff, the Air Staff and the Secretariat of the Air Force before being selected as the Commander of United States Air Forces in Europe and Commander of NATO’s Allied Forces Northern Europe. While in Europe, General Martin commanded joint and combined air forces supporting and participating in Operation Northern Watch over northern Iraq, Operations Joint Forge and Joint Guardian in Bosnia and Kosovo, Operations Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq.

His final assignment surpassed all other achievements, as Martin commanded nearly 80,000 military and civilian personnel responsible for the military programs, operations, and intelligence for the Air Force Materiel Command, a section of the Air Force responsible for executing nearly $40 billion per year – approximately half of the Air Force’s annual budget.

Martin retired from the Air Force in September of 2005. He is now a member of the Board of Directors for the National Academies’ Air Force Studies Board and a distinguished mentor for the Department of Defense. He has served on two Defense Science Board task force studies. He is the Chairman of the Falcon Foundation, which provides scholarship funding for promising young men and women aspiring to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy. He is also a consultant for a number of defense and aerospace industry corporations. It was also announced last month that Martin was selected to be one of the ten members of the Quadrennial Defense Review’s National Defense Panel.

“We are honored to have General Martin join us for our commencement ceremony,” said R-MA President Maj Gen Henry M. Hobgood, USAF Ret.  “I believe it will be an incredible experience for our college-bound cadets to hear from a true patriot.”

Randolph-Macon Academy (R-MA), founded in 1892, is a college-preparatory, coeducational day and boarding school for students in grades 6 through 12.  Students in grades 9-12 participate in R-MA’s 91st Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) and have the option to participate in a unique flight program. R-MA is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and is located in Front Royal, VA.