Lieutenant General Dana T. Atkins, United States Air Force, Ret. ‘77

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dana Atkins, a distinguished military officer and private-sector business leader, became the president and chief executive officer of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) in 2016. MOAA has 390,000 members and is the nation’s largest, most influential association of military officers. Prior to his appointment, Atkins was the president of Chronicle Media, a large media and marketing services firm in Augusta, Georgia. When he retired from the Air Force in 2012, Atkins was serving as the commander of Alaskan Command, Alaska NORAD Region, Joint Task Force Alaska, and 11th Air Force at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. During his military career, he served as a command pilot with more than 4,000 hours in fighter aircraft, as vice commander of the 7th Air Force and U.S. Air Force Korea, as director of operations (J3) U.S. Pacific Command, and as special assistant to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe during the air war over Serbia. He flew as a demonstration pilot for both the European A-10 demonstration team and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. Atkins earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Portland and holds two master’s degrees, one in aeronautical science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and another in national security strategy from the National War College.