Steven A. Cray
Major General Steven A. Cray
Born (1964-06-15) June 15, 1964
Burlington, Vermont
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Air Force
Years of service1984–2019
Rank Major general
UnitVermont National Guard
Commands heldVermont National Guard
AwardsAir Force Distinguished Service Medal
Legion of Merit
Meritorious Service Medal
Other workCommercial Airline Pilot, American Airlines
Websitehttp://www.vtguard.com

Major General Steven A. Cray (born June 15, 1964) was the Adjutant General of Vermont. In this post he served as the senior uniformed officer in the state, and was responsible for the organization, training and equipping of the 4,000 members of the Vermont Army and Air National Guard. As adjutant general, he also served as inspector general, quartermaster general and head of the State Military Department, including the Vermont State Guard and Veterans Affairs.

Early life

Steven A. Cray was born in Burlington, Vermont, on June 15, 1964.[1] He graduated from the University of Vermont (UVM) in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree in business.[2]

Military career

General Cray enlisted in the Vermont Air National Guard while a student at UVM.[3] He received his commission as a second lieutenant after graduating from the Academy of Military Science in 1984.[4]

He became a pilot and attained the rating of command pilot, logging over 2,500 hours of military flying, mostly in the F-16.[5] He is a qualified Joint Task Force Commander[3] and held a variety of command, supervisory and staff positions in the 158th Fighter Wing and Vermont Joint Force Headquarters.[3] Prior to his appointment as adjutant general he served as assistant adjutant general for air.[6]

Election as adjutant general

In 2012 Michael Dubie left the adjutant general's position to become deputy commander of United States Northern Command. He was succeeded on an interim basis by Thomas E. Drew.

In February, 2013 Cray defeated three other candidates in the Vermont General Assembly election for the position.[7] In Vermont, the adjutant general is elected for a two-year term in secret balloting by a combined meeting of the Vermont House of Representatives and Vermont State Senate. At the time, elections took place in February of each odd-numbered year.[8]

Cray was promoted to major general and took over from Drew in a ceremony on March 1, 2013, and Drew retired.[9]

Reelection as adjutant general

On February 19, 2015, the Vermont General Assembly reelected Cray to a two-year term. He was unopposed, and won by unanimous voice vote.[10] In February 2017, Cray was re-elected to another two-year term, again by unanimous voice vote.[11] He did not run for re-election in 2019.[12] Cray was presented with the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal at his March 2019 retirement ceremony.[13] He was succeeded by Brigadier General Gregory C. Knight.[14]

Civilian career

Before becoming adjutant general, General Cray was employed as a commercial airline pilot with American Airlines, and logged over 10,000 flight hours.[15] He also served as president of the Vermont National Guard Charitable Foundation and on other civic and charitable boards and commissions.[16]

Education

Assignments

  1. January 1985 – February 1986, student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Williams Air Force Base, Arizona
  2. March 1986 – April 1986, student, AT-38, Fighter Lead-In Training, Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico
  3. April 1986 – November 1986, student, F-16 Replacement Training Unit, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida
  4. November 1986 – January 1989, assistant standards and evaluation officer, F-16, 134th Fighter Squadron, Burlington, Vermont
  5. January 1989 – July 1992, safety officer/flight lead, F-16, 134th Fighter Squadron, Burlington, Vermont
  6. July 1992 – April 1994, instructor pilot, F-16, 134th Fighter Squadron, Burlington, Vermont
  7. April 1994 – August 1997, supervisor of flying/flight commander F-16, 134th Fighter Squadron, Burlington, Vermont
  8. August 1997 – September 2002, standards and evaluation flight examiner, 134th Fighter Squadron, Burlington, Vermont
  9. September 2002 – May 2004, director of operations, Joint Force Headquarters, Vermont Air National Guard, Colchester, Vermont
  10. May 2004 – May 2006, director of plans and programs, Joint Force Headquarters, Vermont Air National Guard, Colchester, Vermont
  11. May 2006 – April 2009, chief of staff, Joint Force Headquarters, Vermont Air National Guard, Colchester, Vermont
  12. April 2009 – March 2013, assistant adjutant general-air, Vermont National Guard, Joint Force Headquarters, Vermont Air National Guard, Colchester, Vermont
  13. March 2013 – March 2019, adjutant general, Vermont National Guard, Joint Force Headquarters, Colchester, Vermont[3][17]

Flight information

General Cray holds the rating of Command Pilot.[3] He has flown more than 2,500 hours. The aircraft he has flown include the F-16A/B/C/D, AT-38, T-38, and T-37.[3]

Awards and decorations

US Air Force Command Pilot Badge
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
Width-44 crimson ribbon with a pair of width-2 white stripes on the edges Legion of Merit
Width-44 crimson ribbon with two width-8 white stripes at distance 4 from the edges. Meritorious Service Medal
Bronze oak leaf cluster
 Aerial Achievement Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with three oak leaf clusters and "V" Device
Air Force Organizational Excellence Award
Combat Readiness Medal with 1 Silver Oak Leaf Cluster and 3 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters
Bronze star
Width=44 scarlet ribbon with a central width-4 golden yellow stripe, flanked by pairs of width-1 scarlet, white, Old Glory blue, and white stripes
 National Defense Service Medal with bronze service star
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal
Air Force Longevity Service Award with silver and bronze oak leaf cluster
Armed Forces Reserve Medal with silver hourglass and "M" Device
Air Force Training Ribbon
Vermont Medal of Merit
Vermont Commendation Medal
Bronze oak leaf cluster
 Vermont Meritorious Service Ribbon with oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
 Vermont Outstanding Unit Award with oak leaf cluster
Vermont Career Service Award
Vermont Service Ribbon with three oak leaf clusters
Vermont Duty Ribbon with three oak leaf clusters[3]

Effective dates of promotions

Promotions
InsigniaRankDate
Major generalMarch 1, 2013
Brigadier generalSeptember 27, 2007
ColonelJune 4, 2004
Lieutenant colonelAugust 2, 1998
MajorJuly 9, 1994
CaptainAugust 1, 1989
First lieutenantJanuary 10, 1987
Second lieutenantDecember 6, 1984[3]

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 1, entry for Steven A. Cray, accessed March 2, 2013
  2. ↑ General Officer Management Office (2018). "Biographical Sketch, Steven A. Cray". National Guard.mil. Arlington, VA: National Guard Bureau.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Biographical Sketch, Steven A. Cray".
  4. ↑ Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States (EANGUS), Biography, Steven A. Cray Archived 2012-05-19 at the Wayback Machine, accessed March 2, 2013
  5. ↑ Wilson Ring, Associated Press, Vt. Legislature Poised to Elect New Guard Chief, Boston Globe, February 19, 2013
  6. ↑ Peter Hirschfeld, Vermont Press Bureau, Steven Cray to Serve as Next Adjutant General of Vermont National Guard Archived 2013-03-05 at the Wayback Machine, February 21, 2013
  7. ↑ Wilson Ring, Associated Press, Challenges Await Incoming Vt. Guard Chief, February 21, 2013
  8. ↑ Vermont Emergency Management Agency, Annex O, Vermont Emergency Management Plan, 2011, page 1
  9. ↑ Sam Hemingway, Burlington Free Press, Cray Takes Helm of Vermont Guard in Ceremony at Camp Johnson, March 1, 2013
  10. ↑ Associated Press (February 19, 2015). "Vermont Lawmakers Oust Incumbent Sergeant-at-Arms, Re-elect Guard Chief, Elect 3 to UVM Board". Johnson County Daily Journal. Franklin, IN. Archived from the original on February 19, 2015.
  11. ↑ Bloomer, John H. Jr., Secretary of the Senate (February 16, 2017). "Journal of the Joint Assembly" (PDF). legislature.vermont.gov. Montpelier, VT: Vermont General Assembly. p. 4. Retrieved July 26, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ Aloe, Jess (December 3, 2018). "Maj. General Steven Cray will retire after six years as Vermont National Guard's top officer". Burlington Free Press. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  13. ↑ Vermont National Guard (March 8, 2019). "The Vermont National Guard Family: "Bittersweet Hello's and Goodbyes"". Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS). Fort Meade, MD.
  14. ↑ Arcari, Brandon (March 8, 2019). "New day for Vermont Guard as Knight takes over". Vermont Business. South Burlington, VT.
  15. ↑ Nancy Remsen, Burlington Free Press, 'Strategic thinker' Cray to Lead Guard, February 21, 2013
  16. ↑ Vermont National Guard Charitable Foundation, Board of Directors Biography, Steven A. Cray, accessed March 2, 2013
  17. ↑ Johnson, Mark (March 8, 2019). "Knight succeeds Cray as Guard commander". VTDigger. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
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