Bruce Allen Carlson (born October 3, 1949), was the 17th Director of the

National Reconnaissance Office The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a member of the United States Intelligence Community and an agency of the United States Department of Defense which designs, builds, launches, and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the U.S. f ...

(NRO). He is a former four-star

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

and served as the sixth Commander,

Air Force Materiel Command Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF). AFMC was created on July 1, 1992, through the amalgamation of the former Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) and the former Air Force Systems Com ...

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene County, Ohio, Greene and Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patte ...

. The command conducts research, development, test and evaluation, and provides acquisition management services and logistics support necessary to keep Air Force weapon systems ready for war. After over 37 years of service, he retired from the Air Force on January 1, 2009. Carlson served as a general authority and a member of the

Second Quorum of the Seventy Seventy is a priesthood office in the Melchizedek priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Traditionally, a church member holding this priesthood office is a "traveling minister" and an "especial witness" of Jes ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) from April 2009 to October 2015.

Biography

Carlson was born in

Hibbing, Minnesota Hibbing is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 16,214 at the 2020 census. The city was built on mining the rich iron ore of the Mesabi Iron Range and still relies on that industrial activity today. At th ...

, in 1949. He was commissioned in 1971 after completing the

University of Minnesota Duluth The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and offers 16 bachelor's degrees in 88 majors, graduate programs in 25 different fields, and a two-year progr ...

's Air Force ROTC program as a distinguished graduate. He has held various assignments in flying units. Staff assignments have included positions at

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...

, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the offices of the Secretary of the Air Force and Secretary of Defense, and as the director of force structure, resources and assessment with the Joint Staff. Additionally, he commanded the Air Force's

49th Fighter Wing "Thank God for Mississippi" is an adage used in the United States, particularly in the South, that is generally used when discussing rankings of U.S. states. Since the U.S. state of Mississippi commonly ranks at or near the bottom of such rankings ...

Holloman AFB, New Mexico Holloman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base established in 1942 located six miles (10 km) southwest of the central business district of Alamogordo, and a census-designated place in Otero County, New Mexico, United States. T ...

Prior to assuming his current position, Carlson served as the Commander,

8th Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces ...

Barksdale AFB, Louisiana Barksdale Air Force Base (Barksdale AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in northwest Louisiana, United States, in Bossier Parish. It is contiguous to Bossier City, Louisiana, along the base's western and northwestern edge. Barksdale AFB ...

, and Joint Functional Component Commander for Space and Global Strike, U.S. Strategic Command,

Offutt AFB, Nebraska Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base south of Omaha, adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the 557th Weather Wing, and the 55th Wing (55 WG) of the Air Co ...

Carlson is experienced in multiple aircraft weapons systems, is a

command pilot U.S. Air Force aeronautical ratings are military aviation skill standards established and awarded by the United States Air Force for commissioned officers participating in "regular and frequent flight",The standard by which flight status has bee ...

with more than 3,000 flying hours, and has combat experience in the

OV-10 The North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco is an American twin-turboprop light attack and observation aircraft. It was developed in the 1960s as a special aircraft for counter-insurgency (COIN) combat, and one of its primary missions was as a forw ...

. In April 2009, Carlson was called as a general authority and a member of the LDS Church's Second Quorum of the Seventy. In June 2009, he was appointed by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

as director of the NRO, an agency that operates the nation's reconnaissance satellites. On April 18, 2012, Carlson announced his resignation as director of the NRO, effective July 20, 2012. As of 2020, Carlson is on the boards of

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

and

Benchmark Electronics Benchmark Electronics Inc is an EMS, ODM, and OEM company based in Tempe, Arizona in the Phoenix metropolitan area.Worldwide Locations > The Americas > New Hampshire Benchmark Electronics Official Site Singapore; Suzhou, China.;

LDS Church service

Prior to his call as a general authority in April 2009, Carlson served in the church as an elders quorum president, young men president,

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

high councilor A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine h ...

, and an adviser to the church's Military Advisory Committee. Carlson served as one of two area supervisors of the church's Middle East/Africa North

Area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...

from 2012 to 2015. Carlson also served as an Assistant Executive Director of the church's Temple Department. During the church's October 2015 general conference, Carlson was released from the seventy and designated an

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

general authority.

Education

*1971 Bachelor of Arts degree,

*1979 U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nevada *1980 Master of Arts degree,

Webster University Webster University is a private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, Missouri. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs ...

, St. Louis, Missouri *1989 Distinguished graduate, Master of Arts degree, Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island

Assignments

*June 1971 – May 1972, student, undergraduate pilot training, Vance AFB, Oklahoma *June 1972 – April 1973, student, F-4 Replacement Training Unit,

Homestead AFB, Florida Homestead Air Reserve Base (Homestead ARB), previously known as Homestead Air Force Base (Homestead AFB) is located in Miami–Dade County, Florida to the northeast of the city of Homestead. It is home to the 482nd Fighter Wing (482 FW) of th ...

*May 1973 – December 1974, F-4 pilot, 417th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Holloman AFB, New Mexico *December 1974 – October 1975, OV-10

forward air controller Forward air control is the provision of guidance to close air support (CAS) aircraft intended to ensure that their attack hits the intended target and does not injure friendly troops. This task is carried out by a forward air controller (FAC). ...

and instructor pilot, 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron,

Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base The Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Navy Base (NKP), formerly ''Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base'', is a Royal Thai Navy facility used for riverine patrols along the Mekong River. It is approximately 587 km (365 miles) northeast of Bangko ...

, Thailand *October 1975 – November 1977, OV-10 instructor pilot and flight examiner, 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron, Bergstrom AFB, Texas *December 1977 – April 1980, A-10 pilot and fighter weapons instructor pilot, 355th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Myrtle Beach AFB, South Carolina *May 1980 – September 1982, aide to the commander of Headquarters

, Langley AFB, Virginia *October 1982 – June 1985, wing weapons officer, 363rd Tactical Fighter Wing, and operations officer, 17th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Shaw AFB, South Carolina *July 1985 – June 1988, tactical systems requirements officer, Office of Low Observables Technology, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, Washington, D.C. *July 1988 – June 1989, graduate student,

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

, Newport, R.I. *July 1989 – June 1991, director of advanced programs, Headquarters TAC, Langley AFB, Virginia *July 1991 – June 1993, vice commander, 366th Wing, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho *July 1993 – February 1995, senior military assistant to the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, and senior military assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C. *February 1995 – November 1996, commander of 49th Fighter Wing, Holloman AFB, New Mexico *November 1996 – June 1998, director of global power programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. *June 1998 – December 1999, director of operational requirements, Deputy Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. *January 2000 – May 2002, director for force structure, resources and assessment (J-8), the Joint Staff, Washington, D.C. *May 2002 – April 2005, commander of 8th Air Force, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana *April 2005 – August 2005, commander of 8th Air Force, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, and joint functional component commander for space and global strike, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt AFB, Nebraska *August 2005 – January 2009, commander of Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFMC, Ohio

Flight information

*Rating: Command pilot *Flight hours: More than 3,000 *Aircraft flown: F-4, OV-10, A-10, F-16, F-111, EF-111, AT-38, F-117 and B-52

Awards and decorations

Promotion dates

*Second lieutenant: June 12, 1971 *First lieutenant: December 12, 1972 *Captain: June 12, 1975 *Major: November 1, 1982 *Lieutenant colonel: March 1, 1985 *Colonel: February 1, 1991 *Brigadier general: January 1, 1996 *Major general: September 1, 1998 *Lieutenant general: February 1, 2000 *General: September 1, 2005

References

External links

General Authorities and General Officers: Elder Bruce A. CarlsonGeneral Bruce Carlson
Official biography, U.S. Air Force {{DEFAULTSORT:Carlson, Bruce A. 1949 births Living people People from Hibbing, Minnesota United States Air Force generals American general authorities (LDS Church) Members of the Second Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Webster University alumni University of Minnesota Duluth alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Directors of the National Reconnaissance Office Recipients of the Order of the Sword (United States) Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Religious leaders from Minnesota Latter Day Saints from Minnesota Obama administration personnel