John B. Conaway


John B. Conaway is a retired U.S. Air Force officer who served as the Chief of the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C. from 1990 to 1993.

Early life

John B. Conaway was born in Henderson, Kentucky on August 23, 1934. He graduated from Bosse High School in Evansville, Indiana in 1952, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Evansville in 1956, and joined the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.

Start of military career

While attending the University of Evansville, General Conaway entered the Reserve Officer Training Corps program and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force in June 1956.
After completing basic pilot training at Greenville Air Force Base, Mississippi, in 1957, he attended advanced combat crew training at Perrin Air Force Base, Texas, graduating in 1958. His next assignments were as an F-102 fighter-interceptor pilot in the Air Defense Command at K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base and Kincheloe Air Force Base, Michigan.
In 1960, Conaway joined the West Virginia Air National Guard as an SA-16 pilot, flying a special forces operations mission. In 1963, he transferred to the Kentucky Air National Guard's 123rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing as an RB-57 pilot. In 1965 he became a training instructor flying RF-101s.
Conaway was called to active duty with the Kentucky Air National Guard in January 1968 and served in Alaska, Panama, Japan and South Korea. Upon deactivation in June 1969, he returned to the Kentucky Air National Guard as operations officer.
In 1972, Conaway was appointed Air Commander of the Kentucky Air National Guard. In December 1974, he was appointed vice commander of the 123rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, which had units in Kentucky, Arkansas, Nevada and Idaho. Other assignments included serving as the 123rd's director of operations, chief of safety, chief of standardization and evaluation, group commander, group deputy commander for operations, and squadron operations officer.
Conaway continued graduate work at the University of Louisville School of Business and the University of Kentucky School of Business. In 1975, he earned a master's degree in management and human relations from Webster University. He graduated from the Air Force Commander's Safety School in 1969, Air Command and Staff College in 1971, Air University Commander's School in 1972 and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in 1973.

National Guard Bureau

Conaway was appointed Deputy Director of the Air National Guard in April, 1977. In April, 1981 he was advanced to Director of the Air National Guard.
In July, 1988 Conaway was appointed Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau. He served until February, 1990, when he was appointed as Chief of the National Guard Bureau and promoted to lieutenant general.
Conaway served as Chief of the National Guard Bureau until retiring on November 30, 1993.

Retirement

Conaway currently operates a consulting company, The Conaway Group.
In 1989 he was elected to the University of Evansville Board of Trustees, and he became a Life Trustee in 2007.
He has also remained active in civic causes, including serving as Chairman of the Board for the National Guard Youth Foundation.
In 1997 Conaway authored Call Out the Guard: The Story of Lieutenant General John B. Conaway and the Modern Day National Guard.

Pilot qualifications

Conaway is a command pilot with more than 6,500 flying hours in the:

Military awards and decorations

Conaway's military awards and decorations include the: