Col. John Howard, Commander, 375th Air Mobility Wing, Scott Air Force Base (SAFB), will address the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville fall 2017 commencement exercise at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16 in the Vadalabene Center. SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook invited Howard to speak to the graduating class in honor of SAFB’s 100th anniversary.
“We are extremely pleased to have Col. Howard as our December commencement speaker to celebrate the base’s 100th anniversary,” Pembrook said. “Scott Air Force Base and SIUE have worked successfully together in many ways in the past, and we anticipate many more partnerships in the base’s next century of service to our community.”
Howard leads more than 3,100 personnel, oversees assets totaling more than $4 billion, and controls an annual budget exceeding $130 million. The 375th Air Mobility Wing’s mission is to provide aeromedical evacuation for patients, and operational support airlift for high priority passengers and cargo with a fleet of 12 C-21 aircraft.
Prior to his current assignment, Howard served as the vice commander, 100th Air Refueling Wing, Royal Air Force, Mildenhall, England. He is a fully qualified joint staff officer with joint assignments as the aide-de-camp to the commander, U.S. Pacific Command; the aide-de-camp to the commander, U.S. Central Command; an Afghan Air Force advisor, NATO Air Training Command, and deputy commander of the Commander International Security Assistance Force Advisory and Assistance Team, Headquarters International Security Assistance Force in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Howard earned a bachelor’s in mathematics in 1994 from Tufts University in Medford, Mass., achieved an MBA in 1997 from the University of California-Davis, and is a 2011 U.S. Air Force National Security Studies Fellow to Stanford University.
Photo: Col. John Howard, Commander, 375th Air Mobility Wing, Scott Air Force Base.