Patrick K. Gamble

Patrick K. Gamble (born November 12, 1945) is a retired president of the University of Alaska and a retired United States Air Force (USAF) general whose assignments included service as Commander, Pacific Air Forces, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii.

Gamble entered the USAF in 1967 through the four-year Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Texas A&M University. He flew 394 combat missions as a forward air controller in the O-1 Bird Dog during the Vietnam War. He has commanded a fighter squadron and three wings. Before assuming his current position, he was deputy chief of staff for air and space operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. He retired from the USAF on May 1, 2001.

Following his service in the Air Force, Gamble became a senior executive for the Alaska Railroad, where he succeeded Bill Sheffield as president of the railroad. In 2010, he retired from the railroad and accepted appointment as president of the University of Alaska, succeeding Mark R. Hamilton, himself a retired U.S. Army general. In December 2014 Gamble announced his resignation from the University of Alaska and he was succeeded in September 2015 by Jim Johnsen.

Education 1967 Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics, Texas A&M University, College Station 1978 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama 1978 Master of Business Administration and management degree, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 1984 Distinguished graduate, Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama

Assignments December 1967 – January 1969, student, undergraduate pilot training, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas February 1969 – April 1969, forward air controller training, Hurlburt Field, Florida May 1969 – May 1970, forward air controller, O-1 Bird Dog, Duc Hoa Village, South Vietnam May 1970 – November 1970, student, F-102 Delta Dagger interceptor training, Perrin Air Force Base, Texas November 1970 – January 1971, F-106 Delta Dart upgrade pilot training, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida February 1971 – January 1974, life support officer, F-106 instructor pilot and flight commander, 460th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota January 1974 – January 1975, Air Staff Training Assignment, Directorate of Personnel Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. January 1975 – July 1977, chief of standardization and evaluation, 87th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base, Michigan August 1977 – July 1978, student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama July 1978 – May 1981, chief, Air Threat Analysis Group (Red Team), Project Checkmate, Directorate of Operations and Readiness, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. May 1981 – June 1983, commander, 318th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, McChord Air Force Base, Washington July 1983 – June 1984, student, Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama June 1984 – July 1986, chief, Operations Management and Analysis Division; chief, Contingency Plans Division; deputy director, then director, Personnel Plans and Systems, Headquarters Tactical Air Command, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia July 1986 – April 1988, director of operations, then vice commander, 474th Tactical Fighter Wing, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada April 1988 – June 1989, commander, 18th Combat Support Wing, Kadena Air Base, Japan June 1989 – June 1990, commander, 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, Kunsan Air Base, South Korea June 1990 – June 1992, executive officer to the Air Force chief of staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. August 1992 – June 1993, commander, 58th Fighter Wing, Luke Air Force Base, Arizona June 1993 – November 1994, commandant of cadets and commander, 34th Training Wing, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado November 1994 – August 1996, assistant chief of staff, Operations and Logistics Division, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, Belgium August 1996 – November 1997, commander, Alaskan Command, Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region, 11th Air Force and Joint Task Force-Alaska, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska November 1997 – July 1998, deputy chief of staff, Air and Space Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. July 1998 – 2001, commander, Pacific Air Forces, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii

Flight information Rating: Command pilot Flight hours: More than 3,100

Major awards and decorations

NATO Medal

Other achievements 1976 Member, William Tell Air-to-Air Weapons Competition Team, 87th Fighter Interceptor Squadron 1982 Team leader, William Tell Air-to-Air Competition Team, 318th Fighter Interceptor Squadron

Effective dates of promotion Second Lieutenant December 13, 1967 First Lieutenant June 13, 1969 Captain December 13, 1970 Major June 1, 1976 Lieutenant Colonel September 1, 1980 Colonel September 1, 1985 Brigadier General November 1, 1991 Major General September 28, 1994 Lieutenant General September 1, 1996 General October 1, 1998