Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. -- The deputy commander of Air Combat Command bade farewell to active Air Force service June 22, 2018, during a retirement ceremony at Joint Base Langley Eustis, Virginia.
Maj. Gen. John K. McMullen served for three decades, and thanked his coworkers, friends and family for their support of his successful career.
“I appreciate most the trust that you gave me,” he said to the audience. “I never felt second guessed, and it was truly an amazing feeling to help Airmen at every opportunity I could.”
McMullen earned his commission through the officer training school in March of 1988. Since then, he has served in 22 unique positions ranging from an instructor pilot to the director of operations for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration. His pilot rating is command pilot, and he has accrued more than 3,000 flight hours spread across five different aircraft.
But as the ACC deputy commander, McMullen was responsible for organizing, training, equipping and maintaining combat-ready forces to support unified commands to ensure air, space and information superiority. He directly impacted the service members at more than 34 wings, 19 bases and 70 operating locations around the world.
In total, he and Gen. Mike Holmes, commander of ACC, have led more than 147,000 active-duty and civilian members through a period of innovation and resiliency as the command assumes more cyber responsibilities and continues to uphold the Air Force’s commitment to national security objectives.
“I could not have done the things that I’ve been able to do this year without him,” Holmes said about his time spent learning the intricacies of the cyber mission. “And I want to thank (the ACC team) for trusting him and his leadership as I’ve been out on the road traveling.
“So, General McMullen, our hats off to you,” he added.
McMullen and his wife are planning to kick off their retirement by enjoying some free time in Tampa, Florida.
“People have asked me if I was sad to leave the Air Force or if I was happy that I’d made it this far,” McMullen said. “And the answer to both those questions is yes. I’m sad to be leaving all of you folks and sad to miss the daily interaction I had with the Airmen here.
“But we’ll be happy to go where we want to go and do what we want to do,” he said with a laugh.
Maj. Gen. Chris Weggeman, currently the commander of 24th Air Force and commander of Air Forces Cyber, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, will assume duties of the deputy commander of ACC later this year.