Retired Lt. Gen. Bruce “Orville” Wright, national president and CEO of the Air & Space Forces Association, will be in Minot this week to serve as guest speaker at the 39th Annual “Commanders Choice Awards Banquet.”

The banquet on Thursday at the Grand Hotel is hosted by the local Gen. David C. Jones Chapter of the Air & Space Forces Association. The chapter will be presenting about 42 awards to men and women at Minot Air Force Base.

Air & Space Forces Association, formerly the Air Force Association, is a nonprofit association for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force.

As the association’s top executive, Wright directs the professional staff. He is responsible for the management and operations of the association’s 100,000-plus members and serves as the publisher of Air & Space Forces Magazine, the official journal of the Air & Space Forces Association.

Retiring as a three-star general, Wright spent 34 years in the Air Force. His last assignment was commander of 5th Air Force and U.S. Forces Japan. During his time in the Air Force, he was extensively involved in joint and coalition combat operations, leading 65 combat missions, commanding an F-16C squadron during Operation Desert Storm and 2/2 commanding a composite operations group during Operations Provide Comfort in northern Iraq and Deny Flight in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm. He was also the director for Information Operations on the Joint Staff in the Pentagon and commanded the U.S. Air Force Intelligence Agency. He was the vice commander of Air Combat Command. In this role, he was directly engaged in achieving operational capability for the F-22, successful fielding of the Sniper targeting pod and integration of Predator UAV capabilities into combat operations. He is a fighter pilot with more than 3,200 flying hours, including multiple combat tours.

After retiring, Wright spent nine years with Lockheed Martin, most recently as vice president of Cyber and S&T for Lockheed Martin Government Affairs. During that time, he was directly involved in a wide range of joint forces, intelligence, advanced technology and cyber programs.

Wright serves on the board of directors for the Air Warrior Courage Foundation and Board of Trustees for the American Air Museum, Duxford, United Kingdom.

He and his wife, Kerri, reside in Arlington, Virginia.