LIEUTENANT GENERAL STEPHEN B. CROKER, USAF (RET.)
General Croker retired from the United States Air Force on 1 April 1996. He has been serving as a Senior Mentor for the US JFCOM, training senior officers for Joint Task Force-level command for 12 ½ years. In July 2005 he was named as the “senior” senior mentor for Supreme Allied Command Transformation where he served for 3 1/2 years. He also has served as a Senior Mentor for the USAF Operational Command Training Program since the program's inception, training new joint force air component commanders and staffs. He has served as a senior fellow and mentor at the Joint Forces Staff College, the Air Mobility Command's Warfare Center, for Combined Forces Command, Korea, at the Marine Corps University, Quantico and for the U.S. Army. Finally, he has been a senior concept developer for four large-scale Air Force and one Joint command and control experiment.
From August 1993 until April 1966, he served as Commander, Eighth Air Force and as Commander, Combined Task Force, Bomber, for the Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Command. From January 1992 until August 1993, he served as Commander, Air Combat Command (Provisional), creating the new ACC from Strategic and Tactical Air Commands, and then as Vice Commander, ACC.
From 1989 to 1992, he was director of Strategic, Airlift and Special Forces programs, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Acquisition. General Croker served at Headquarters, Strategic Air Command, from 1987 through 1989 as Assistant, then Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans. In both assignments, he was the focal point for legislative initiatives and user requirements to support the modernization of existing air vehicles and missiles and the acquisition of new programs including the B-2, AC-130U and C-17.
Prior to these headquarters tours, he served as Air Force member, Chairman's Staff Group during the implementation of the Goldwater-Nichols legislation to revamp the role of the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff. From 1982 to 1985, he was Vice Commander, then Commander, 97th Bomb Wing, Blytheville, Arkansas.
From 1964 until 1982, General Croker served in a broad range of operational and staff assignments. He was credited with 100 combat missions over North Vietnam in the F-4, was combat ready in the F-106 in Air Defense Command, and in the FB-111 in Strategic Air Command. He served both Air Staff and Joint Staff tours in Plans, and was Chief, Western Hemisphere Division, as well as Chief, Strategic Arms Control Branch, OJCS. He has commanded both maintenance and bomb squadrons.
General Croker has operational experience in the F-4, F-102, F-106, F/FB-111, B-52 G/H, KC/EC-135, A-10, C-130, HH-60, B-1 and B-2 aircraft.
On active duty, Gen Croker began bible study groups at a number of Air Force bases. Once he retired, he served on the Board of MILITARY MINISTRY of CAMPUS CRUSADE for four years. He has also taught adult education classes on the BOOK of ACTS for several congregations.
Education:
B.S./Military Science - U.S. Air Force Academy
Armed Forces Staff College
M.A./ International Affairs - Georgetown University
Post-graduate work/International Relations. - M.I.T. SEMINAR XXI Program
M.B.A. - Golden Gate University
Post-graduate work/Business Administration. - University of Indiana, Bloomington
Department of State Senior Seminar
[ Leadership, Mentoring and Payback ]
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