Richard N. "Rick" Goddard, a retiredU.S. Air ForceMajor General, ran for theUnited States Congress in the2008 election forGeorgia's 8th congressional district as aRepublican.[1]His last position in the Air Force before retiring was commander ofWarner Robins Air Logistics Center,Robins Air Force Base, Georgia.
Goddard graduated from theUniversity of Utah in 1966 with a bachelor's degree in Political Science and received a Masters of Science in Business Administration from Central Michigan University in 1975. He entered the Air Force in 1966. He became a command pilot with more than 3,500 flying hours, including 226 combat missions in Southeast Asia flying the F-100 Super Sabre, and was awarded theSilver Star,Distinguished Flying Cross and twelveAir Medals.
Goddard commanded two aircraft maintenance squadrons and twoFB-111 fighter/bomber squadrons, the 380th Bomb Wing atPlattsburgh Air Force Base inPlattsburgh, New York and the27th Fighter Wing atCannon Air Force Base nearClovis, New Mexico. As a member of the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff, he served as deputy director of the National Strategic Target List and as deputy director for force employment plans. He also served as director of logistics at U.S. Air Forces in Europe and as director of logistics atAir Combat Command. He retired from the Air Force on March 1, 2000.[2]
In 2003, Georgia GovernorSonny Perdue appointed Goddard to the Board of Directors of the Georgia Military Coordinating Committee, which is chartered to provide direct support to Georgia's military installations and military servicemembers in Georgia.[3]
Since July 2006, Goddard has been the Vice President and Chief Technology Officer ofMercer University inMacon, Georgia;[4] prior to that, he was the Senior Vice President for Administration.[5]
Goddard lost to Democratic incumbentJim Marshall in 2008.