Gerald Wayne "Ged" Wright (born July 7, 1942) is an American politician and military officer. BRIGADIER GENERAL GERALD W

Wright was commissioned into the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

in June 1964. In 1970 he joined the

Minnesota Air National Guard The Minnesota Air National Guard (MN ANG) is the aerial militia of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is, along with the Minnesota Army National Guard, an element of the Minnesota National Guard. As state militia units, the units in the Minnesota Ai ...

and later transferred to the

Oklahoma Air National Guard The Oklahoma Air National Guard (OK ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Oklahoma, United States of America. It is, along with the Oklahoma Army National Guard, an element of the Oklahoma National Guard. As state militia units, the units in ...

in 1973. He retired with the rank of brigadier general effective March 31, 1999.

Military career

Wright was commissioned through the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) in June, 1964, graduated from Undergraduate Pilot Training at

Vance Air Force Base Vance Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in southern Enid, Oklahoma, about north northwest of Oklahoma City. The base is named after local World War II hero and Medal of Honor recipient, Lieutenant Colonel Leon Robert Va ...

in January 1966. Stationed at

Randolph Air Force Base Randolph Air Force Base was an United States Air Force base located at Universal City, Texas ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio). Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the Uni ...

, he was an Instructor Pilot from October, 1967 to February, 1968 and an Academic Instructor from February, 1968 to March, 1970. He joined the Minnesota Air National Guard 109th Tactical Airlift Squadron in March 1970 as a transport pilot. He joined the

125th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Tulsa Air National Guard Base in August 1973 as a fighter pilot flying the F-100 and then the A-7. He then served as Flight Commander in the 125th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 125th Tactical Fighter Squadron Assistant Operations Officer, 138th Fighter Group Chief of Standardization, Headquarters, Oklahoma Air National Guard Staff Officer and was last assigned as the Chief of Staff, Headquarters, Oklahoma Air National Guard.

Political career

Wright took office as a Republican member of the

Oklahoma Senate The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution.Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is the daily newspaper for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. Tulsa World Media Company is part of Lee Enterprises. The new owners announced in January 202 ...

''. He lost to

Scott Pruitt Edward Scott Pruitt (born May 9, 1968) is an American lawyer, lobbyist and Republican politician from the state of Oklahoma. He served as the fourteenth Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from February 17, 2017, to July ...

in the Republican primary. Wright said of Pruitt in December 2016, "There are a number of people who cross your path, and I’ve come across a lot of them in my career in the military, politics and law, who are great self-promoters, and he’s one of them. Maybe that’s what you’ve got to do." Wright's children Brian, Brent and Jenna have also served in the U.S. Army, Army National Guard and Air National Guard.

References

1942 births Living people Oklahoma lawyers Oklahoma National Guard personnel Republican Party Oklahoma state senators {{Oklahoma-politician-stub