James N. Post III

Major General James Nelson Post III is a former United States Air Force officer who served as Director of the United States Air Forces Central Command's Air and Space Operations Center, and Director and Vice Commander of the Air Combat Command. A command pilot with over 4,850 flying hours, he led combat missions in support of Operations Northern Watch, Operation Southern Watch and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was relieved of his command in April 2015 for discouraging personnel under his command from communicating with the United States Congress.

Biography Raised in Lincoln Park, New Jersey, Post graduated from the United States Air Force Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in June 1983. He undertook pilot training at Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas from June 1983 to June 1984, and lead-in fighter training at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico from July to September 1984. From October 1984 to June 1985 he learned to fly the F-4D Phantom II at Homestead Air Force Base in Florida with the 308th Fighter Squadron. He was then posted to Germany, where he served with the 23d Fighter Squadron, flying the F-4E Phantom II from Spangdahlem Air Base.

Returning to the United States, Post became an F-16 Falcon evaluation pilot with the 62nd and 63rd Fighter Squadrons at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. In 1990, he was a distinguished graduate of the Squadron Officer School at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. He then earned a Master of Public Administration degree from Troy University in 1991, and completed the Fighter Weapons Instructor Course at the Fighter Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada in December 1992. From January 1993 until January 1994, he was an F-16 Instructor and Evaluation Pilot and the Weapons Officer and Flight Commander of the 35th Fighter Squadron, which was based at Kunsan Air Base in South Korea. Between February 1994 and June 1996, he was an F-16 Instructor and Evaluation Pilot, Chief of Standardization and Evaluation, and wing weapons officer, of the 35th Fighter Wing, at Misawa Air Base in Japan. He won the Air Force's Anthony C. Shine Award for Fighter Pilot of the Year in 1996. He flew 280 combat sorties. This aircraft had been developed in the 1970s specifically for close air support, and had seen extensive service in conflicts since then. In 2012, the Air Force announced plans to disband five squadrons of A-10s as a cost-saving measure. The plan ran into strong opposition in the United States Congress. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 prohibited the Air Force from spending any money retiring or planning to retire the A-10. Post recalled that in his answer he said:quote|I believed it was essential for the members in the audience to listen and understand the importance of the Air Force's decision with respect to the future of the A-10. I said that their expertise and commitment was critical to our finding the most effective way to transition to the F-35-how we do Close Air Support, how we do Combat Search and Rescue, and how we might find offsets to accommodate the divestiture of the A-10. I then mentioned that some of the argument over the A-10 seemed to be misinformed, subjective, and in many cases emotional. I said that it was okay to be proud of a weapons system that's done tremendous work in support of troops and friendly forces around the world. I said I could relate with those passionate about their assigned weapon system, but unfortunately fiscal reality wouldn't allow us to do both-continue flying the A-10 while bringing the F-35 to operational capability. I said that the internal (AF) discussion and debate was over, the CSAF and SECAF have been briefed; they've made their decision and passed their recommendation to Congress accordingly. That said, I mentioned that it didn't appear the divestiture of the A-10 was going to happen as early, nor as quickly as the AF recommends. I said It was time to focus and work hard towards doing the best we can with what we know, and not towards undermining senior leaders' decisions, nor towards fulfilling personal preferences and agendas. The majority of the audience appeared to nod in agreement. And finally, I said that for those in uniform to do anything contrary to what the Chief and Secretary have directed would be disloyal, or some might say institutional treason (or words to that effect). Post's final assignment was as Director of Current Operations in the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations at Headquarters U.S. Air Force, at The Pentagon. He retired in October 2016.

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