United States Air Force

BIOGRAPHY

 

Master Sergeant Jerry L. Wright

                                     

MSgt Jerry L. Wright was the Superintendent, Detachment 1, 605th Test Squadron, USAF C2 Training & Innovation Center, Aerospace Command and Control Agency, The Boeing Company, Seattle, Washington.

Sergeant Wright entered the Air Force in July 1977 and his assignments included the 4950th Test Wing, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH (Aug 77-Sep 79), 20th Tactical Fighter Wing, RAF Upper Heyford, England (Sep 79-Aug 82), 728th Tactical Control Squadron, Duke Field, Eglin AFB (Aug 82-Nov 84), 964th AWACS, 966th AWACTS, 552 AWACW Stan/Eval (Nov 84-Mar 89), USMTM-Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Mar 89-Mar 91), 962nd AWACS, Elmendorf, AFB, Alaska (Apr 91-Apr 94), and the AWACS Joint Test Force, Seattle, (Apr 94-Mar 2000) until retirement.

Sergeant Wright started his flying career in 1984 when he joined the AWACS program at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. He spent the next four years assigned to the 964th AWACS, 966th AWAC Training Squadron, and 552nd AWACS Stan/Eval as a Mission Ready Crewmember, Instructor, and SEFE. In early 1989 he applied to and was accepted for assignment to the United States Military Training Mission, AWACS Technical Assistance Field Team, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and was solely responsible for in-country development and testing of Saudi E-3A & KE-3 communications systems, RSAF CSO training, and served as the U.S.-Saudi liaison for AWACS communications issues through the end of the Gulf War. Following Desert Storm Sergeant Wright was reassigned from the desert to the frozen north at the 962nd AWACS, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska where he served as Instructor/SEFE CSO and NCOIC, Current Operations.

Sergeant Wright was recruited for the position of Operations Superintendent of the AWACS premier flight test unit at the Boeing Space & Defense Center in Seattle, Washington in 1994 where all future experimental AWACS projects are conceived, developed, and flight tested. He was moved up to be First Sergeant and Senior Enlisted Manager to the Commander in July 1997.

Master Sergeant Wright was a Chief Enlisted Aircrew Member with over 5000 hours on seven different models of E-3s and the E767 AWACS. He was qualified as an Instructor in 1987 and Evaluator in 1988. His military awards include the Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Aerial Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters and the Air Force Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster. Sergeant Wright currently holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from Columbia State University, is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, and is a 1986 graduate of the Strategic Air Command NCO Academy. He was selected as Det 1, 605th Test Squadron Outstanding Senior NCO of the Year for 1996 and the first recipient of the Air & Space Command & Control Agency's SNCO Outstanding Aircrew Member of the Year, 1997.

He was promoted to the rank of Master Sergeant in September 1993.

Sergeant Wright is married to the former Elizabeth Bowers of Grass Valley, California. They have two daughters, Amy and Bronwyn, and one son, Joshua.

MSgt Wright's retirement was effective 1 April, 2000 and he and his family now live in their cottage on Bonney Lake in Washington.

 

(Current as of Retirement)