John B. Sams Jr. is a retiredUnited States Air Forcelieutenant general and former vice president of the Air Force Systems business unit, part ofBoeing Integrated Defense Systems.[1] He is a former chairman of the board of visitors atThe Citadel and served as the school's interim president July–October 2018.[2]
Sams was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in 1967, and flew more than 700 hours in 100 missions as aC-7A pilot inVietnam. Subsequently, he served as an operations and staff officer for theJoint Chiefs of Staff; as the director of bomber operations and as director of conventional plans atStrategic Air Command; and as director of forces, plans and operations atAir Force Headquarters. He was one of the first pilots to fly theE-4B National Emergency Airborne Command Post aircraft and commanded the1st Airborne Command and Control Squadron atAndrews AFB,Maryland; he also served as commander of the7th Bomb Wing; the College of Aerospace Doctrine, Research and Education atAir University;60th Airlift Wing and theTanker Airlift Control Center at Headquarters Air Mobility Command. The general also commanded the air mobility forces forOperation Provide Hope flying support to Russia and the republics of the formerSoviet Union in February 1992. Before becoming 15th Air Force commander, he was vice commander ofAir Mobility Command.[3]
In February 2000, Sams assumed the position of Boeing director of C-17 Field Services, responsible for the deployment ofC-17 Globemaster III into the Air Force operating inventory. He later became the director of business development for the767 Global Tanker/Transport Aircraft program[1] and then started JBSJ & Associates, an aerospace consulting firm.
Sams holds a bachelor's degree in history fromThe Citadel and a master's degree in personnel management fromCentral Michigan University. He is also a graduate of theEmory University Advanced Management Program and the Advanced School for Government atHarvard University.
1967 Bachelor's degree in history, The Citadel, Charleston, S.C.
1973 Squadron Officer School
1977 Master's degree in personnel management, Central Michigan University
1981 Distinguished graduate, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
1985 Distinguished graduate, Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
1988 Advanced Management Program, Emory University
1994 Advanced School for Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
1995 Seminar XXI Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Boeing Names John B. Sams Jr. Vice President in Air Force Systems