Captain John L. Bedker II has logged over 22,000 hours of flight time. He served in the United States Navy with 24 years of combined active and reserve Naval service. As a Naval Reservist Captain Bedker was entrusted with several leadership unit assignments including: Executive Officer (XO) USS Dwight D. Eisenhower; XO, Joint NATO base Keflavik, Iceland; Special Assistant, N78, Pentagon; Commanding Officer (CO) CV Northeast; and CO, Force Protection and Security, Headquarters Unit, Atlantic.

Captain Bedker was hired by TransWorld Airlines (TWA) in 1979 and retired as an American Airlines Captain. At TWA Captain Bedker was a line check airman and instructor pilot. He is type-rated in Lockheed, McDonnell Douglas and Boeing aircraft.

A 1973 graduate of the United States Naval Academy (USNA) where he received his B.S.; a 1991 graduate of Harvard University where he received his A.L.M.; and a 2016 graduate of HenleyBusiness School where he received his PhD. Dr. Bedker was awarded a Fulbright by the U.S. Department of State. Dr. Bedker was the 2018-2019 U.S. Fulbright Scholar to Belarus.