BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:America/Anchorage X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Anchorage BEGIN:VEVENT UID:169@alaskaworldaffairs.org DTSTART;TZID=America/Anchorage:20141121T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Anchorage:20141121T130000 DTSTAMP:20231222T082515Z URL:https://alaskaworldaffairs.org/archived-events/ralston-handy-military- ak/ SUMMARY:Gen. Ralston & Lt. Gen. Handy on "Military in Alaska: Strategic Imp ortance Then and Now" DESCRIPTION:Did you miss this program or would like to listen to it again? Check-out the program podcast on Alaska Public Media by clicking here.\n\n \n**Part of the Anchorage's Place in the World: Celebrating the Past 100 Y ears and Looking Toward the Future Series**\n\n\n\n\nGeneral Joseph Ralsto n Bio:\nIn 2003\, General Ralston completed a distinguished 37-year Air Fo rce career as Commander\, U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Command er Europe\, NATO. As NATO commander\, General Ralston contributed to prese rving the peace\, security and territorial integrity of the NATO member na tions while commanding approximately 65\,000 troops from 39 NATO and other nations participating in ongoing operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina\, Kosov o and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. He also led the efforts t o integrate the three nations that were admitted to NATO in 1999 and overs aw the process to invite seven nations to join NATO in 2002.\n\nAs Command er of the U.S. European Command from (2000-2003)\, General Ralston was the senior U.S. military officer and commander of all US forces in an area of responsibility that covers more than 21 million square miles and includes 93 nations. This territory extends from the North Cape of Norway\, throug h the waters of the Baltic and Mediterranean seas\, most of Europe\, parts of the Middle East\, to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. In this co mmand\, he faced and met many challenges. He deepened the command's role i n Central Asia and the Caucasus through humanitarian missions and through military training assistance for Operation Enduring Freedom. He led the co mmand in daily missions in the war against terrorism\, from the streets of Bosnia to the waters of the Mediterranean. And he oversaw air operations in the no-fly zone over Northern Iraq.\n\nPreviously\, General Ralston ser ved as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1996-2000)\, the nation 's second highest-ranking military officer. In that role\, General Ralston chaired the powerful Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC)\, which validated the requirements for nearly every program of the Department of D efense. His previous assignment was commander of the U.S. Air Force Air Co mbat Command at Langley Air Force Base\, Virginia. He has also commanded t he Alaskan Command and the Alaskan NORAD Region. He has served as Deputy C hief of Staff of the Air Force for Plans and Operations\, as Director of T actical Programs in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition\, and as Director of Air Force Operational Requirements.\ n\nA native of Hopkinsville\, Kentucky\, General Ralston entered the Air F orce in 1965 through the ROTC program upon graduation from Miami Universit y in Ohio. His stellar career included commands at squadron\, wing\, numbe red air force and major command levels as well as a variety of staff and m anagement assignments. He is a command pilot with more than 2\,500 flying hours\, including 147 combat missions over Laos and North Vietnam. General Ralston is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Lockheed Marti n\, The Timken Company\, and URS Corporation. In September 2006\, Presiden t Bush appointed him as the Special Envoy for Countering the Kurdistan Wor ker’s Party (PKK)\, a terrorist organization designated by the United St ates\, Turkey and the European Union.\n\n\n\nLt. General Russell Handy Bio :\nLt. Gen. Russell J. Handy is Commander\, Alaskan Command\, U.S. Pacific Command\; Commander\, Joint Task Force Alaska\, U.S. Northern Command\; C ommander\, Eleventh Air Force\, Pacific Air Forces\; and Commander\, Alask an Region\, North American Aerospace Defense Command\, Joint Base Elmendor f-Richardson\, Alaska. General Handy is the senior military officer in Ala ska\, responsible for the integration of all military activities in the Al askan joint operations area\, synchronizing the activities of more than 21 \,000 active-duty\, Guard and Reserve members from all services. He is als o responsible for the planning and execution of all Homeland Defense opera tions within the theater\, including security and civil support actions. G eneral Handy also commands Eleventh Air Force\, overseeing the training an d readiness of five wings and Air Force installations located in Alaska\, Hawaii\, and Guam. As Commander of the Alaskan Region of the North America n Aerospace Defense Command\, General Handy directs operations to ensure e ffective surveillance\, monitoring and defense of the region’s airspace. \n\nGeneral Handy was commissioned in 1983 through Officer Training School after graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He has held a variety of flying\, staff and command assignments\, including command of the 58th Fighter Squadron\, Eglin Air Force Base\, Fla.\; 3rd Operations G roup\, Elmendorf AFB\, Alaska\; 33rd Fighter Wing\, Eglin AFB\; 57th Wing\ , Nellis AFB\, Nev\; 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force-Iraq and J oint Task Force Support Forces Antarctica. The general is a graduate of\, and has been an instructor at\, the USAF Fighter Weapons School at Nellis AFB. He has also served at North American Aerospace Defense Command as Chi ef\, Headquarters NORAD Advanced Programs\, Peterson AFB\, Colo.\, and as Director of Operations\, Plans\, Requirements and Programs and Chief of St aff\, Headquarters Pacific Air Forces\, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam\, H awaii.\n\nGeneral Handy is a command pilot with more than 3\,600 flight ho urs\, primarily in the F-15 and F-22A. He has participated in numerous com bat operations and deployments\, including Operations Desert Shield\, Dese rt Storm\, Desert Fox\, Southern Watch\, Noble Eagle\, Iraqi Freedom and N ew Dawn.\n\n\n\nThis program is supported in part by a grant from the Alas ka Humanities Forum\, the Rasmuson Foundation\, and the Anchorage Centenni al Celebration. Any views\, findings\, conclusions or recommendations expr essed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the Forum.\n\n \n\n\nThis program is presented in partnership with:\n\n\n \;\n\n  \; ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://alaskaworldaffairs.org/wp-content/upload s/2014/08/AlaskaCommand.jpg CATEGORIES:Anchorage Centennial,Anchorage's Place in the World,International Program Series END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Anchorage X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Anchorage BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20141102T010000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0900 TZNAME:AKST END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR