Reservist pins on first star

Staff Sgt. Ashley Brunson, left, serving as proffer, stands by asMaj.Gen.Mary KayHertog, 2nd Air Force commander, and Col. Andrew Cain, vice commander, pin stars on Brig. Gen. Norman Ham Jr., Jan. 5. General Ham has served as General Hertog’s mobilization assistant since May 2008. He was commissioned in 1981 and served on active duty until 1990 as an aircraft commander, life support officer and assistant executive officer to the Air Force vice chief of staff. As a reservist, he’s served as chief of an air traffic operations center, command and control officer, C-130H aircraft commander and operations officer. He was chief of operational plans, long range plans and flight safety at 22nd Air Force. He commanded an airlift squadron which deployed to Afghanistan and served as vice commander of an airlift wing, where he completed a 195-day deployment as a combined air operations center battle commander. He’s a command pilot with more than 11,000 hours of military and civilian flying time, including combat missions in support of Operations Joint Endeavor, Joint Forge and Enduring Freedom. In his civilian capacity, he’s been employed since 1990 by a major airline and is qualified as a captain on the B-737-800. (U.S. Air Force photo by Adam Bond)