Glenn F. Spears
Official portrait, 2009
BornLouisville, Kentucky
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Air Force
Years of service1978-2011
RankLieutenant General
Battles/warsOperation Allied Force
Alma materAir Force Academy
Spouse(s)Kim[1]

Glenn F. Spears is a retired United States Air Force lieutenant general now working as a business development consultant. He was formerly Commander, Air Forces Southern and 12th Air Force.[2][3] He was also deputy commander of United States Southern Command, one of nine (now there are eleven) combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense.[4] He also commanded the Special Air Mission, the unit responsible for flying the President of the United States on Air Force One.[5] During his 33 years of service in the Air Force, he commanded at every level, provided force management expertise and flew over 3,400 hours in 16 types of Air Force aircraft.[3][6]

Education

Spears graduated from Glenbard West High School in 1974 and received a bachelor's degree from the United States Air Force Academy in 1978, a master's degree from Salve Regina University in 1987 and the Air War College.[7]

Career

Spears flew the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, Rockwell B-1 Lancer and Lockheed MC-130H aircraft and became an experienced strategic instructor pilot and command pilot.[8][9] As a major, he worked for two years as a strategic force programmer. As a colonel, he was commander of the 28th Operations Group, where he developed new tactics for bomber strikes.[10] During Operation Allied Force in the Kosovo War, he commanded the 100th Air Expeditionary Wing.[4] He was also the executive officer to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force stationed at The Pentagon.[11]

As a brigadier general, he was commander of the 89th Airlift Wing stationed at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland.[11][12] In this position, he commanded 6,200 civilians and officers, and was responsible for ensuring the President and other national leaders were safe while flying globally, a job he held in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001.[13][14][15] Within days of Spears taking command of the 89th, Air Force One played a pivotal role for President Bush as commander-in-chief during the 9/11 crisis.[16] At the same time, he was also commander of Andrews Air Force Base.[9][17]

Following his command of the 89th, he became the Director of Plans and Programs for the Pacific Air Forces and was stationed at Hickham Air Force Base, Hawaii.[18][19] In this position, he was responsible for Air Force planning, programing and budgeting for the United States Pacific Command, the largest combatant command of the United States Department of Defense, which encompasses more than 100 million square miles (260,000,000 km2).[20] Also as a brigadier general, he was the Director of Force Management Policy, Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower and Personnel at the United States Air Force Headquarters, responsible for ensuring the correct force to meet mission requirements.[21] During this assignment, he provided leadership during the Air Force study by the RAND Corporation on the enlisted force.[22] He continued in this role as a major general, where he chaired senior level working group meetings to review results of an Air Force study by the RAND Corporation for force development.[23][24]

As a lieutenant general, he was the deputy commander of the United States Southern Command stationed in Doral, Florida.[25][26] During this time, the Southern Command was involved in Joint Task Force Bravo and Operation New Horizons. In August 2009, he took command of Twelfth Air Force and Air Forces Southern stationed at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, which was responsible for, "seven wings, two direct reporting units and 14 Air Force National Guard and Reserve units" and "all aircraft operating in the Central and Southern America and the Caribbean".[27] Additionally, Twelfth Air Force was the lead planning agency for designated operations in the Southern Command region.[28] While he was commander, the 12th Air Force responded to 2010 Haiti earthquake.[29] During this crisis, he took actions to increase airlift resources and facilitate delivery of much needed humanitarian assistance.[30]

He retired from the Air Force on June 1, 2011, after 33 years of service.[31] Upon retirement, he became a consultant at The Spectrum Group.[32]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Glenn F. Spears.
  1. ↑ "Lt. Gen. Glenn F. Spears takes his Fini flight". www.airforcemedicine.af.mil. May 6, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Lieutenant General Glenn F. Spears". United States Air Force. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Air Force announces Lieutenant General Spears' retirement", Davis-Monthan Air Force Base website, April 25, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "CAFB welcomes Lt. Gen. Glenn Spears", Silver Wings, Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, volume 32, issue 16, April 18, 2008.
  5. ↑ "Air Force One in native's hands", Daily Herald, Arlington Heights, Illinois, August 23, 2001, page 3. (subscription required)
  6. ↑ Vanoni, Joseph. "From Strategic to Tactical Level and Nowhere in Between: The USAF at the Operational Level", School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, June 1, 2021, page 80.
  7. ↑ Mannion, Peg. "Glenbard West Distinguished Alumni Award reception set for Oct. 2", Daily Herald website, Arlington Heights, Illinois, updated September 29, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Staff Profiles: Air Force", "Consideration of H.J. Res. 308 and H.J. Res. 298, Resolutions Disapproving the Recommendations of the Defense Base Closures and Realignment Commission: Hearing Before the Military Installations and Facilities Subcommittee of the Committee on Armed Services", House of Representatives, One Hundred Second Congress, First Session: Hearing Held July 23, 1991, Volume 4, United States Government Printing Office, 1992, page 173.
  9. 1 2 Dorr, Robert F. Air Force One, MBI Publishing Company, St. Paul, Minnesota, July 27, 2002, pages 141-142. ISBN 0-7603-1055-6.
  10. ↑ Air Force Magazine, Air Force Association, volume 81, number 6, December 1998.
  11. 1 2 "AMC General, Senior Officer Assignment Announcements", The Mascoutah Herald, volume 116, number 28, July 12, 2001, page 4. (subscription required)
  12. ↑ Sengupta, Somini. "Liberian Pres says United States supports his enemies", Bennington Banner, Bennington, Vermont, July 8, 2003, page 16. (subscription required)
  13. ↑ Hitzeman, Harry. "Glen Ellyn can be proud of Col. Glenn Spears", Daily Herald, Arlington Heights, Illinois, 129th year, number 315, August 25, 2001, page 3.(subscription required)
  14. ↑ "Johns Creek man talks about keeping president safe during 9/11", WSB-TV website, September 11, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  15. ↑ Dangremond, Sydney. "Rotary clubs host Patriot Day memorial", Johns Creek Herald, volume 25, number 37, September 16, 2021, pages 1 and 6.
  16. ↑ Dorr, Robert F. "Air Force One: A History of Presidential Air Travel", Defense Media Network website, November 10, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  17. ↑ Putnam, Judy. "Former Andrews AFB Commander recalls his experience on 9/11", Patch.com, September 11, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  18. ↑ Vogel, Steve. "'Incredible' Landing Earns Pilot Distinguished Flying Cross", Washington Post, August 10, 2003. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  19. ↑ Hickerson, Jim. "Information Technology Needed To Reach The Far Horizon", SIGNAL Magazine, AFCEA International, February 2004.
  20. ↑ "The Air Force Leverages the Power of IT", CHIPS magazine, Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, volume XXII, issue 1, Winter 2004, pages 10-11.
  21. ↑ West, Shad. "Briefing team talks with officers affected by Force Shaping Board", Hilltop Times, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, volume 65, number 45, November 10, 2005, page 2.(subscription required)
  22. ↑ Schiefer, Michael; Robbert, Albert A.; Crown, John S.; Wong, Carolyn and Manacapilli, Thomas. The Weighted Airman Promotion System: Standardizing Test Scores, RAND Project Air Force, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California, 2008, pages iii and xix. ISBN 978-0-8330-4231-6.
  23. ↑ Zarzyczny, Ruby. "Air Force reconsiders 192 lieutenants", 'Hilltop Times, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, June 1, 2006, page 5.(subscription required)
  24. ↑ Moore, S. Craig and Brauner, Marygail K. Advancing the U.S. Air Force's Force Development Initiative, RAND Project Air Force, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California, 2007, page xix. ISBN 978-0-8330-4012-1.
  25. ↑ Spangler, Nicholas. "Moving Wall memorial to honor war dead", The Miami Herald, Miami, Florida, November 8, 2008, Metro & State section, page 2B.
  26. ↑ "Glenn F. Spears Southern Command Biography", January 31, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  27. ↑ Pederson, Brian J. "D-M ceremony marks Air Force command change", Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, Arizona, volume 168, number 220, August 8, 2009, page 1.(subscription required) Tucson.com version.
  28. ↑ Petosky, Eric. "New Horizons Panama 2010 comes to a close", 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) website, September 15, 2010. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  29. ↑ Mendoza, Martha. "Haiti flight logs reveal early chaos", Centre Daily Times, State College, Pennsylvania, volume 121, number 316, February 19, 2010, page A6. (subscription required)
  30. ↑ Dorn, Walter A. (editor). Air Power in UN Operations, Ashgate Publishing Limited, England, 2014, pages 217-20. ISBN 978-1-4724-3546-0.
  31. ↑ Petosky, Eric. "12th Air Force commander retires after 33 years of service", 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) website, June 3, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  32. ↑ "Spectrum Group Biography", The Spectrum Group website. Retrieved January 2, 2022.

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