Brigadier General Gene L. Ramsay, Commander of the 176 Wing, Kulis Air National Guard Base, Anchorage, Alaska, was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the USAF in 1971 after completing the four-year ROTC program at the University of Iowa. His first operational assignment was as a C-130E navigator with the 772nd Tactical Airlift Squadron, 463rd Tactical Airlift Wing, Dyess AFB, Texas. While there, he deployed to Europe, Southeast Asia, and South America. He was then assigned to the 17th Tactical Airlift Squadron, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, flying ski-equipped C130D aircraft in addition to C-130A and C-130E aircraft. In December 1976, he joined the Alaska Air National Guard where he occupied numerous positions in the 144th Tactical Airlift Squadron, including Flying Training Officer, Standardization Evaluation Navigator, Navigator Resource Manager, Flight Management Officer, and Chief Navigator. He then went to the Group and became one of the first navigators in the Air Guard to serve as Chief of Safety. He was the project officer for the activation of the new 210th Air Rescue Squadron and ultimately became its first commander. In 1992 he became the first commander of the newly activated 176th Wing. On assuming command, he became the first navigator to command the 176th Wing. A Master Navigator, General Ramsay has flown all over the world during his career, accumulating over 7500 military flying hours, all in the C-130 aircraft.