Texas Military Forces
Hall of Honor
Bobby W.
Hodges
 Major
General Bobby W. Hodges enlisted in the U. S. Air Force in June 1953.
After primary, basic and advanced pilot training, he spent two and a
half-years at Misawa Air Force Base, Japan, with the 4th Fighter
Interceptor Squadron. While stationed at Misawa, he was a member of the
4th Fighter Squadron Rocket Team flying F-86Ds. In Far East air force
competition, the team placed second and General Hodges tied for first
place in the individual category.
In September 1957, General Hodges became an air technician with the
147th Fighter Interceptor Group stationed at Ellington AFB in Houston,
Texas. He served in a variety of command and staff positions and in
January 1967, he was named deputy commander for operations and base
operations supervisor.
In July 1968, General Hodges began a 90-day voluntary tour of duty in
Southeast Asia. He participated in the "Palace Alert" program of the Air
Force, a program using Air National Guard pilots flying F-102
interceptor aircraft in Southeast Asia. During his tour of duty, General
Hodges flew 51 combat missions out of South Vietnam and Northern
Thailand for a total of 101 combat flying hours.
In May 1969, he assumed command of the 147th Fighter Interceptor Group
and under his command the unit carried out its air defense mission of
the upper Texas Gulf Coast in an exceptional manner. He also assumed
command of Ellington AFB as an additional duty when the Air Force closed
out its host base responsibility in March 1975. He continued in this
dual role until his reassignment as commander of the 136th Air Refueling
Wing, Texas Air National Guard, Hensley Field.
Under General Hodges' command, the 136th Air Refueling Wing accomplished
two significant deployments to the European theater. During those
deployments, General Hodges was cited for outstanding leadership as the
wing accomplished 356 tactical airlift employment sorties, carrying
701.6 tons of cargo, 2,056 passengers and dropped 1,374 paratroopers
with no safety deviations.
On 14 June 1984, General Hodges was selected to be the commander, Texas
Air National Guard with headquarters at Camp Mabry, Austin, Texas, and
served in this position until 1 December 1984, at which time he was
assigned as the Air National Guard Assistant to the Commander-in-Chief
of the Military Airlift Command, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. In this
capacity, General Hodges functioned as the liaison officer between the
Air National Guard and the military airlift command until his retirement
on 31 December 1989.
General Hodges is a command pilot with over 7,400 flying hours, of which
4,250 hours has been flown in single-engine jet fighter aircraft. His
decorations and awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service
Medal, two Air Medals, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Lone Star
Distinguished Service Medal and numerous other Federal and state awards.
General Hodges is life member number 92 of the National Guard
Association of Texas. He served on the board of directors of NGAT for
three years (1967-1969), and is a charter member of the Texas Guard
Legislative Task Force.
General Bobby Hodges is truly a dedicated patriot and citizen-soldier
who for more than 44 years has provided outstanding leadership and
distinguished service to his state and nation.
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