Patrick Peter Caruana (born November 11, 1939) is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Air Force.

Biography

Caruana was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. He attended the U.S. Air Force Academy and Texas A&M University.

Career

Caruana originally enlisted in the

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a MAJCOM, major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of ...

in 1957. He later received an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy, graduating in 1963. From 1965 to 1969, he served in the 916th Air Refueling Squadron at Travis Air Force Base. In 1970, he was deployed with the

315th Tactical Airlift Wing The 315th Airlift Wing (315 AW) is a wing of the United States Air Force Reserve. It is stationed at Joint Base Charleston, in the city of North Charleston, South Carolina, and operates the C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. If mobilized, the u ...

to serve in the Vietnam War. After his service in the war, he joined the faculty of the Air Force Academy. Caruana served with the

920th Air Refueling Squadron The 920th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 379th Bombardment Wing at Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan where it was inactivated on 30 September 1992. The first predecessor of the ...

from 1977 until 1980, at which time he was given command of the

11th Air Refueling Squadron The 11th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 340th Air Refueling Wing, stationed at Altus AFB, Oklahoma. It was inactivated on 1 October 1994. History During World War II the squadro ...

at Altus Air Force Base. After a tour of duty at Headquarters

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

, he was assigned to the

376th Strategic Wing 376th may refer to: *376th Air Expeditionary Wing, inactive wing of the United States Air Force, last stationed at the Transit Center at Manas International Airport, Kyrgyz Republic *376th Air Refueling Squadron, inactive United States Air Force un ...

at Kadena Air Base in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. In 1985, he assumed command of the 376th. After Caruana's return to the United States, he assumed command of the

384th Air Refueling Wing 384th may refer to: *384th Air Expeditionary Group, provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command *384th Air Expeditionary Wing, inactive unit of the United States Air Force * 384th Air Refueling Squadron (384 ARS) is ...

and the

42nd Air Division The 42nd Air Division was a unit of the United States Air Force. It was established as the 42 Bombardment Wing (Dive) on 8 February 1943. The wing first saw combat in September 1943. It was inactivated in 1991. History Activated in 1943 as the 4 ...

. He would serve in the Gulf War before re-assuming command of the 42nd, in 1991. Later that year, he returned to Headquarters Strategic Air command as Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations. The following year, he was assigned to the Office of the

Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition) The Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics) (SAF/AQ) is a civilian position in the Department of the Air Force that is appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. ...

. In 1993, he was assigned command of the

14th Air Force The Fourteenth Air Force (14 AF; Air Forces Strategic) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). It was headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The command was responsible for the organizatio ...

at Vandenberg Air Force Base before becoming vice commander of Air Force Space Command in 1994. He retired in 1997. Awards he received include the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

with two oak leaf clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Outstanding Unit Award with oak leaf cluster, the National Defense Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Vietnam Service Medal with silver oak leaf cluster and two bronze oak leaf clusters, the

Southwest Asia Service Medal The Southwest Asia Service Medal (SASM or SWASM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created by order of President George H.W. Bush on March 12, 1991. The award is intended to recognize those military service members ...

with two oak leaf clusters, the

Vietnam Gallantry Cross The Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross also known as the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross or Vietnam Cross of Gallantry ( vi, Anh-Dũng Bội-Tinh) is a military decoration of the former Government of South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam). The medal wa ...

, the Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia).

References

External links

Patrick Caruana Collection, Library of Congress Veterans History project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caruana, Patrick 1939 births Living people United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War United States Air Force personnel of the Gulf War Military personnel from St. Louis Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Gallantry Cross (Vietnam) Texas A&M University alumni United States Air Force Academy faculty United States Air Force Academy alumni United States Air Force generals