USC grad from Laurens promoted to Major General in the Air Force Reserve
July 7, 2014
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, GA – Maj. Gen. William Buck Waldrop Jr., a graduate of the University of South Carolina, was promoted to the rank of major general June 30, 2014, in a ceremony held at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins.
Waldrop is the director of plans, programs and requirements for Air Force Reserve Command with headquarters at Robins AFB. He will transfer to the Pentagon, where he will serve as the Assistant to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for Reserve Matters, Joint Staff, effective July 15.
Waldrop is a native of Laurens, South Carolina. He received his commission from the ROTC program at USC in 1983.
He served more than 14 years of active duty as a fighter pilot and staff officer including tours of duty in the United States, Europe and the Pacific.
He transitioned to the Air Force Reserve in 1997. He was mobilized to active duty in 2003 in support of operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom and served in the National Military Command Center and the Air Force Operations Group at The Pentagon.
Maj. Gen. Richard A. Shook Jr., mobilization assistant to the chief of Air Force Reserve, presided over the promotion ceremony.
At Headquarters AFRC, Waldrop is responsible for planning and programming more than $5 billion annually for a force of more than 80,000 personnel and 2,500 of the command’s organizations. He leads the development of strategic and contingency plans, major equipment requirements and doctrine reviews.
Maj. Gen. William Buck Waldrop Jr., right, accepts the two-star flag from Maj. Gen. Richard A. Shook Jr., mobilization assistant to the chief of Air Force Reserve, during Waldrop’s promotion to major general. Waldrop is the director of plans, programs and requirements for Air Force Reserve Command, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., and Shook presided at the ceremony June 30, 2014, in the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins. (U.S. Air Force photo by Ray Crayton)
