US Air Force grads learn from GA instructors John and Martha King (July 15, 2025, San Diego, California) – US Air Force officers graduating from the Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, in May of 2025 heard from, among others, general aviation pilots and flight instructors John and Martha King regarding leadership and aviation risk management. The Kings’ presentation was part of the annual “Gathering of Eagles” week in which nine individuals who were identified as having made significant contributions to the air, space and cyberspace communities were invited to participate as “Eagles” and speak to an audience of approximately 500 graduating Air Force majors. The program traces its origin to 1980, when retired Brig. General Paul Tibbits shared some of his experiences with the students. Previous “Eagles” include many significant names such as Jimmy Doolittle, Chuck Yeager, and Neil Armstrong. The Gathering of Eagles program is a class assignment at the Air Command and Staff College in which students in a leadership class are given the project of finding and interviewing aviation contributors who are then invited to participate in the program. John King said, “The folks who came to San Diego to interview us before the event, Major Stephanie Jones and Major Paul Ferris, both of the U.S. Air Force, did an incredibly thoughtful and professional job of interviewing us. Then while we were in Alabama the way we were treated and the interactions we had with those attending ACSC made this one of the most fun and satisfying experiences we have had.” Martha commented, “When we asked the class members who selected us why they chose us, they said that a surprising number of people who became military pilots had learned to fly using our courses and that they considered our courses to be important resources.” John added, “After our presentation in Alabama, it became clear from the follow-up questions that even the non-pilots among the audience found our discussion of risk management to be highly relevant to them as managers.” Martha reflected, “There was one deeply personal thing that occurred during our week at the Gathering. My father, Ralph Rockwood, attended a program designed to groom potential General Officers at Air War College on Maxwell AFB from August 1953 to June 1954, when I was 8 years old. Col. Hatch, the Commandant, found and showed me my father’s class photo. To be honored by the same school that my father attended was deeply moving.” In addition to John and Martha King, the 2025 “Eagles” were: • Charles F. Bolden, Jr., Marine Corp Major General (Ret.), U.S. Astronaut, 12th NASA Administrator • Andre Borschberg, Co-Founder, CEO and Pilot, Solar Impulse Project • Ramon Colon-Lopez, Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman (SEAC) (Ret.) of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the most senior enlisted service member in the U.S. Armed Forces • Garry Gordon Cooper, Royal Australian Air Force Pilot (Ret.)/Vietnam Forward Air Controller, the only non-U.S. citizen to have been presented the Air Force Cross • Charles B. DeBellevue, Colonel (Ret.), F4 Phantom II Weapon Systems Officer/top ace of the Vietnam War, recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal • Ronald R. Fogleman, General (Ret.), 15th Chief of Staff of the Air Force, creator of Air Force Core Values • John “Lucky” Luckadoo, Major U.S. Army Air Corps (Ret.), Pilot and Co-pilot with the 100th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force in WWII, survivor of 25 combat missions over Europe • Marc H. Sasseville, Lt. General (Ret.), 12th Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau/F16 Pilot. For more information on the 2025 “Eagles” go to https://goefoundation.org/year_honored/2025/. To view the chapter about John & Martha in the book created for this year’s gathering, visit Boundless Horizons – Leadership, Courage and the Pursuit of Excellence.
