2019 Grand Marshal

Brigadier General John D. Slocum

Brigadier General John D. Slocum is the Commander of the 127th Wing at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, which is home to 1,700 Airmen operating both the A-10 and KC-135 aircraft and hosts 44 tenant organizations and nearly 4,500 personnel from all branches of the military and numerous Department of Homeland Security organizations.

General Slocum received his Air Force commission through East Carolina University's Reserve Officer Training Corps in 1984. During his eight years of active duty he served as an F-4E pilot at Moody AFB, Georgia. In 1992, General Slocum joined the Arizona Air National Guard and served in a variety of Operations Group and headquarters-staff positions. In 2003, he led the Operations Group F-16E/F Block 60 F-16 conversion, airworthiness certification and academic development for the 162nd Fighter Wing. He was in the initial pilot cadre for standing up F-16E/F Block 60 pilot training for the United Arab Emirates and wrote more than 150 flight training and safety academic lessons and textbooks. As the Chief of Safety, he authored the Air National Guard's indigenous human factors for maintenance training curriculum (Maintenance Resource Management), and presented the curriculum to more than 40,000 Airmen.

General Slocum served as program manager for the "Wingman Project" suicide prevention and resiliency initiative leveraging internet, social media and app technology to champion caring for people outreach, training and marketing. He conceived and launched the "Ready 54" resiliency campaign and the "Wingman Day" resource for the Air National Guard. He also initiated the DoD-wide mid-air collision avoidance program, "SeeandAvoid.org" now hosted by the Federal Aviation Administration. In 2013, General Slocum was inducted into the U.S. Air Force Safety Hall of Fame.

Source: National Guard Bureau, Department of Defense

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