Ronald J. Bath

Ronald Jay Bath (born November 4, 1944) is a retired United States Air Force major general who directed U.S. Air Force Strategic Planning for the service's Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs at service headquarters in the Pentagon.

Bath's prior assignment was as director, Quadrennial Defense Review and Defense Integration. The Defense Integration Office was established to prepare and represent the Air Force in the QDR and the follow-on actions, including the Defense Planning Guidance within the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense.

Career Bath began his military career in 1968 as a boiler operator and heating specialist in the enlisted ranks of the Nevada Air National Guard. During the 1997 QDR, he was the Air National Guard assistant to the director for the Air Force effort. Bath was one of 16 senior military officers representing the four services and the single National Guard officer assigned as professional staff to the 1995 congressionally mandated Commission on Roles and Missions of the Armed Forces. Having been a traditional guardsman and air technician, Bath is a command pilot with more than 3,500 flying hours in the RF-101 and RF-4 Phantom II. He flew 31 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm, during the Persian Gulf War.

Assignments June 1969June 1970: student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma June 1970July 1984: RF-101 reconnaissance pilot, 192nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Reno, Nevada November 1990July 1991: flight safety officer, 35th Tactical Fighter Wing, Sheik Isa Air Base, Bahrain July 1991July 1993: Chief of Safety, later, Chief of Plans, 152nd Tactical Reconnaissance Group, Reno, Nevada July 1993July 1994: National Security Fellow, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts July 1994July 1995: professional staff, Commission on Roles and Missions of the Armed Forces, Washington, D.C. July 1995July 1996: Air National Guard adviser to the Army Division Redesign Study, Washington, D.C. July 1996December 1997: Air National Guard assistant to the Director, Air Force QDR, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. December 1997December 1999: Division Chief, National Defense Review, Directorate of Air Force Strategic Planning and Programming, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. December 1999September 2001: Deputy Director, Air Force QDR, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. September 2001March 2002: Director, Air Force QDR and Defense Integration, Office of the Special Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. March 2002May 2006: Director, Air Force Strategic Planning, Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.

Flight information Rating: Command pilot Flight hours: More than 3,500 Aircraft flown: T-41, T-37, T-38, F-101, RF-101, C-54, F-4 and RF-4

Awards and decorations

Air Force Distinguished Service MedalDefense Superior Service MedalDistinguished Flying CrossMeritorious Service MedalAir Medal with three bronze oak leaf clustersAerial Achievement MedalAir Force Commendation Medal with bronze oak leaf clusterAir Force Achievement MedalAir Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor device and silver oak leaf clusterAir Force Organizational Excellence Award with bronze oak leaf clusterCombat Readiness Medal with silver oak leaf clusterAir Reserve Forces Meritorious Service MedalNational Defense Service Medal with bronze service starSouthwest Asia Service Medal with two bronze service starsAir Force Overseas Short Tour Service RibbonAir Force Longevity Service Award with bronze oak leaf clusterArmed Forces Reserve Medal with bronze hourglass and M deviceSmall Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon with bronze service starAir Force Training RibbonKuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia)Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)

Dates of rank

Education 1968: B.S., business and agriculture, University of Nevada, Reno 1971: MBA, University of Nevada, Reno 1975: J.D., McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento, California 1982: Air Command and Staff College, by seminar 1993: Air War College, by correspondence 1994: National Security Fellow, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 2014: Associate of Applied Science in Welding Technology, Truckee Meadows Community College, Reno, Nevada

Personal life Bath retired in November 2007 and formed the RJBath Group, specializing in classified and unclassified defense analysis consulting.