Michael E. Ryan is a retired United States Air Force general Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. He served as the senior uniformed Air Force officer responsible for the organization, training and equipage of 700,000 active-duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian forces serving in the United States and overseas. As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he and the other service chiefs functioned as military advisers to the Secretary of Defense, National Security Council and the president.

Ryan entered the U.S. Air Force after graduating from the United States Air Force Academy in 1965. He has commanded at the squadron, wing, numbered air force and major command levels. He flew combat in Southeast Asia, including 100 missions over North Vietnam. He also served in staff assignments at the major command level, Headquarters U.S. Air Force and the Joint Staff. As Commander of Sixteenth Air Force and Allied Air Forces Southern Europe in Italy, he directed the NATO air combat operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina which directly contributed to the Dayton Peace Accords.

Before assuming the Chief of Staff position, Ryan was Commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Commander, Allied Air Forces Central Europe, with headquarters at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Ryan retired from the U.S. Air Force on October 1, 2001.

Retired Lieutenant General Everett H. Pratt Jr. was the vice commander, Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. He acted for and in the absence of USAFE's commander. In support of the U.S. European Command, he conducted and coordinated offensive and defensive air operations. He was responsible for providing administrative and logistical support to all Air Force units and activities in USAFE's geographical area of responsibility which includes Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. He was also responsible for Air Force negotiations with foreign and United States officials. 

The general entered the Air Force in 1964 as a graduate of the Emory University Reserve Officer Training Corps program in Atlanta. He has been a commander at all levels from squadron to numbered Air Force, and has served in several senior staff positions. He is a command pilot, having flown more than 4,000 hours principally in fighter and trainer aircraft. He flew as a fighter pilot and high-speed forward air controller in Vietnam.

Retired Major General Ronald L. Johnson was named the National Basketball Association’s Senior Vice President, Referee Operations in July 2008.  He is responsible for all aspects of the NBA’s officiating program, including recruiting, training and development, scheduling, data management and analysis, and work rules enforcement.

Prior to the NBA, General Johnson served as the deputy commanding general and deputy chief of engineers, the second highest-ranking senior engineer staff officer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).   He retired in April 2008 after serving 32 years of military service.

From October 2005 until his retirement, Johnson was assisting the chief of engineers in maintaining Army Staff oversight for organizing, training, and equipping 70,000 engineer soldiers in the active and reserve components and USACE.  He additionally served as the principal engineer advisor to the chief of staff of the Army.

Prior to his appointment to this command, he served as the director of the U.S. Army Installation Management Agency (IMA). Johnson also served as the commander of USACE’s Gulf Region Division (GRD) and U.S. deputy director of the Program Management Office (PMO) in Iraq. In June 2003, Johnson was named director of military programs and G3 for the USACE in which he was directly responsible for oversight of the Army’s Military Construction, Real Estate Services and Environmental Programs. Additional previous command assignments included:  Commanding General, Pacific Ocean Division, USACE; Assistant Commandant, U.S. Army Engineer School/Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center; Executive Officer to the Secretary of the Army; Brigade Commander, 130th Engineer Brigade, V Corps, Germany; Senior Aide to the Secretary of the Army; and Battalion Commander in both Fort Lewis, WA and Fort Ord, CA.

Johnson’s awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal (with two Oak Leaf Clusters), Bronze Star, Legion of Merit (with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Commendation Medal (With Oak Leaf Cluster), Combat Action Badge, Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, Army Staff Identification Badge, and the Recruiter Badge.  

He is also the recipient of the 2003 Black Engineer of the Year Award for Professional Achievement in Government Service, an inductee into the 2005 Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni at Georgia Tech, and the recipient of the 2008 Black Engineer Lifetime Achievement Award.  

A native of Chicago, IL, Johnson currently resides in Manhattan.   He is the proud father of a 20-year-old son named Ian.