Timothy Michael Ray is a retired

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

who last served as the commander of

Air Force Global Strike Command The Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) is a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. AFGSC provides combat-ready fo ...

from August 21, 2018, to August 27, 2021. He concurrently served as the commander of Air Forces Strategic – Air,

United States Strategic Command The United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. Headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, USSTRATCOM is responsible for Strategic_nuclear_weap ...

. His two previous assignments were as the Deputy Commander,

United States European Command The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of the eleven Unified Combatant Command, unified combatant commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territori ...

, and as the Commander,

Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a Numbered Air Force, numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U ...

. He previously served as the director of global power programs in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Headquarters United States Air Force, Washington, D.C.

Military career

Ray is a native of

DeLand, Florida DeLand is a city in and the county seat of Volusia County, Florida, United States. The city sits approximately north of the central business district of Orlando, and approximately west of the central business district of Daytona Beach. It is ...

. In February 2018, he was nominated for promotion to

and reassignment as the commander of the

. This nomination was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

in March 2018. Prior to his current assignment, Ray served as the Deputy Commander,

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, Germany. His retirement ceremony was held on July 1, 2021, but it took until August of the same year before his deputy, Lieutenant General Anthony J. Cotton officially relieved him as commander of Air Force Global Strike Command. Ray officially retired from the USAF on September 1, 2021.

Education

* 1985 Bachelor of Science degree in Human Factors Engineering, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. * 1994 Distinguished graduate, Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala. * 1998 Master of Science degree in aviation sciences and management, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Fla. * 1998 Distinguished graduate, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala. * 2004 Master of Science degree in strategic studies, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala. * 2008 Senior Executive Fellow, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.

Assignments

1. August 1985 – August 1987, student, undergraduate pilot training, Williams AFB, Ariz.
2. August 1987 – October 1987, student, B-52 combat crew training, Castle AFB, Calif.
3. November 1987 – March 1993, B-52 flight commander, instructor and evaluator pilot, 23rd Bomb Squadron, Minot AFB, N.D.
4. March 1993 – March 1994, B-52 Flying Training Unit instructor pilot, Castle AFB, Calif.
5. March 1994 – June 1997, B-52 FTU instructor pilot and executive officer, 2nd Bomb Wing, Barksdale AFB, La.
6. June 1997 – July 1998, student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
7. July 1998 – October 2000, Deputy Chief, Aircraft Team, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt AFB, Neb.
8. October 2000 – June 2001, operations officer, 11th Bomb Squadron, Barksdale AFB, La.
9. June 2001 – July 2003, Commander, 96th Bomb Squadron, Barksdale AFB, La.
10. August 2003 – June 2004, student, Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
11. July 2004 – September 2005, Chief, Training, Readiness, Exercises and NEO Division (J37), U.S. Forces Korea, Yongsan Army Garrison, South Korea
12. September 2005 – July 2006, Vice Commander, 5th Bomb Wing, Minot AFB, N.D.
13. July 2006 – June 2008, Commander, 7th Bomb Wing, Dyess AFB, Texas
14. July 2008 – July 2009, deputy director of Air and Space Operations at Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va.
15. August 2009 – August 2011, Director of Operations, Air Force Global Strike Command, Barksdale AFB, La.
16. August 2011 – September 2012, Commanding General, NATO Air Training Command – Afghanistan, NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan/Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan and Commander, 438th Air Expeditionary Wing, Kabul, Afghanistan
17. September 2012 – January 2014, Director, Operational Planning, Policy and Strategy, Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, Plans and Requirements, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
18. February 2014 – June 2015, Director, Global Power Programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
19. July 2015 – October 2016, Commander, 3rd Air Force, Ramstein Air Base, Germany
20. November 2016 – August 2018, Deputy Commander, U.S. European Command, Stuttgart, Germany
21. August 2018 – August 2021, Commander, Air Force Global Strike Command, and Commander, Air Forces Strategic – Air, U.S. Strategic Command, Barksdale AFB, La.

Flight information

Rating: Command Pilot.
Flight hours: more than 4,000.
Aircraft flown: T-37, T-38, B-52G, B-52H, B-1B, C-21, C-27A and C-208.

Awards and decorations

Effective dates of promotion

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Timothy Air War College alumni United States Air Force personnel of the Iraq War United States Air Force personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University alumni Living people Military personnel from Florida People from DeLand, Florida Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Air Force Academy alumni United States Air Force generals Year of birth missing (living people) Squadron Officer School alumni Air Command and Staff College alumni