Photo By Master Sgt. Joshua Horton | U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Bruce Bancroft, right, Kentucky’s new assistant adjutant...... read more read more
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Brig. Gen. Bruce Bancroft took command of the Kentucky Air National Guard during a ceremony at the 123rd Airlift Wing here March 14, pledging to continue a rich heritage of excellence and teamwork as the state’s new assistant adjutant general for Air.
“I'm incredibly humbled and thankful to serve the Soldiers and Airmen of the Kentucky National Guard,” Bancroft said, speaking to an audience of friends, family and Airmen in the Fuel Cell Hangar at the Kentucky Air National Guard Base. “There is no place I would rather be. I'm extremely proud of the accomplishments of the Airmen of the 123rd Airlift wing, and I could not ask for a better group of professionals representing Kentucky's Air Force.
“October will mark my 30th year in uniform, and this will be my sixth command,” Bancroft continued. “While priorities may change and duties of the office may differ, my beliefs have remained constant throughout my career. I believe that, apart from service to our families, serving in the defense of our nation is the highest calling. I believe that everything executes at the squadron level. I believe in building teams and surrounding myself with people who are better than I am. I believe the senior NCO is the greatest achievement the military has ever created. And I believe, at the end of the day, when the fog of war and the rush of our daily responsibilities subside, it has always been about the Soldier and the Airman.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for the opportunity to serve.”
Bancroft, who was promoted to brigadier general during a ceremony earlier in the day, replaces Brig. Gen. David Mounkes as assistant adjutant general for Air. Mounkes has served in that role since 2022 and is retiring.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Haldane Lamberton, adjutant general of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, called Bancroft a superior leader and said the state was blessed to have his expertise.
“Working with quality folks such as General Bancroft makes it a pleasure for me to be in the Kentucky National Guard,” said Lamberton, the ceremony’s officiant. “I’m honored to be able to continue to work with you, and I look forward to benefitting from your knowledge, experience and continued service.”
Bancroft, a former commander of Kentucky’s 123rd Airlift Wing, first joined the active-duty Air Force after graduating from the University of Louisville in 1996. He completed Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, and went on to attend Air Command and Staff College before completing Air War College in 2016.
While on active duty, Bancroft served at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, from February 1996 to March 1998 as the Operations Center flight commander for the 3rd Aerial Port Squadron. The following year, he was selected as the logistics operations officer for Joint Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, supporting special operations forces worldwide.
Upon completion of joint undergraduate pilot training with the U.S. Navy, Bancroft’s career took him to Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, serving the next four years with the 50th Airlift Squadron and flying tactical airlift missions across the globe. From May 2004 to November of 2008, Bancroft served as an instructor pilot, evaluator pilot, chief of standardization and evaluations, and director of instructional flight hours, providing more than 1,800 instructional flight hours to multi-engine student pilots at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas.
In 2008, after 13 years of active-duty service, Bancroft transferred to the Kentucky Air National Guard, joining the 123rd Contingency Response Group where he served as the operations officer, a squadron commander and, ultimately, group commander.
In his role as operations officer, Bancroft deployed to Dakar, Senegal, in 2014 to stand up a Joint Task Force-Port Opening. That air cargo hub, established and staffed primarily by members of the 123rd Contingency Response Group, coordinated the delivery of troops and supplies to West Africa during the largest Ebola virus outbreak in history. As a key component of Operation United Assistance, the hub processed 193 aircraft and 1,200 short tons of cargo during the unit's two-month deployment.
As commander of the 123rd Contingency Response Group, Bancroft oversaw numerous missions and exercises, both stateside and overseas. In 2017, for example, the unit was tasked to operate Qayyarah West Airfield, Iraq, serving as the most forward-deployed U.S. Air Force unit during the West Mosul offensive. While deployed, the group moved 674 short tons of cargo and 2,000 personnel closer to the fight with ISIS while de-conflicting 4,500 air operations across 2,800 square miles of combat airspace.
The unit also provided humanitarian relief following Hurricane Harvey in 2017, establishing a Disaster Aeromedical Staging Facility in Houston; and was instrumental in response to Hurricane Maria in San Juan, Puerto Rico, later that same year, evacuating 3,887 passengers, moving 3,617 short tons of cargo and providing ramp operations to 268 aircraft at what had been a non-functional airfield.
As commander of the 123rd Airlift Wing, a role he held from 2021 to 2024, Bancroft oversaw numerous worldwide deployments of wing personnel, including in support of missions to airlift 11,000 Afghan evacuees to the United States; tornado recovery and flood-response operations across the Commonwealth; the staffing of local health-care facilities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and the wing’s conversion to a new airframe, the C-130J Super Hercules. For these efforts, the wing was recognized with an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and a Meritorious Unit Award.
His career spans more than 29 years and includes participation in Operations Southern Watch, Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, Tomodachi/Pacific Passage, Unified Response, United Assistance and Inherent Resolve.
Lamberton also had high praise for Mounkes, who served as assistant adjutant general for Air during a time of tremendous growth in the state’s ability to coordinate the response of aviation assets following natural disasters. These efforts, Lamberton said, led to enhanced rescue and recovery capability during multiple floods by more effectively employing Kentucky Air Guard fixed-wing aircraft, Kentucky Army Guard helicopters, Kentucky State Police air assets, Civil Air Patrol pilots and aviation support from outside the state.
“We had not seen that level of complexity in integrating air operations previously,” Lamberton said. “It takes a talented, smart and capable individual to coordinate that kind of activity at the state level, and we’re much more of a joint force by virtue of this work.
“I think all of us want to leave things better than we found them, and Dave did that for us. He brought us together operationally, and he brought us together culturally. The Kentucky National Guard is better because of Dave Mounkes.”
Mounkes graduated from California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, and received a commission through Officer Training School in 1989. A master navigator, he has flown C-130 combat, combat-support and humanitarian-relief operations worldwide for both the active-duty Air Force and the Air National Guard.
Mounkes initially served on active duty at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, where he spent three years with the 50th Airlift Squadron. He was then selected as a tactical airlift instructor for the 62nd Airlift Squadron, instructing and evaluating both initial tactical airlift students and tactical airlift instructor candidates.
Mounkes transferred to the Kentucky Air National Guard in August 1997 and was mobilized from 2002 to 2003 in support of Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. In the course of his Air Guard career, he has served as director of operations for the 165th Airlift Squadron, commander of the 123rd Contingency Response Group and commander of the 123rd Airlift Wing — a post he held from 2016 to 2021, during which time the wing earned three Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards. He also served for a year as director of policy for air operations, plans and programs at Joint Force Headquarters — Kentucky.
Mounkes’ operational experience includes tours as commander for the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan; commander of a Contingency Response Element in the Dominican Republic in support of Operation Unified Response; and commander of Joint task Force-Port Opening Senegal for Operation United Assistance in Dakar, Senegal. Other deployments include missions in support of Operations Provide Promise, Restore Hope, Provide Relief, Joint Forge and Coronet Oak.
“Looking back over a 35-year career, it goes fast,” Mounkes told the audience. “But I’m leaving the Kentucky Air National Guard in good hands. Bruce is a proven leader, time and time again, and I can’t think of anybody more ready to take the job. In the coming years, he’ll keep the unit moving forward and do great things.
“China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are still out there. ISIS and violent extremist organizations still have bad intentions. There will always be floods and tornadoes for which to respond. There will always be enemies from whom our country and families need protection and contingencies with which to grapple. But you know, the 123rd Airlift Wing — it's a great unit. You all are a great unit. One thing that we can count on is that you'll always answer the call, whether it's for a combat deployment, a humanitarian response or the next disaster that affects the Commonwealth and the country. The Commonwealth will be well served.”
Mounkes, who received a Kentucky Distinguished Service Medal during the ceremony, thanked his family for their support throughout his career, and praised the Airmen of Joint Force Headquarters with whom he has worked the past 2 1/2 years.
“Your efforts and expertise have vastly improved the Commonwealth’s ability for air response and coordination,” he said. “You have exceeded my expectations, and I couldn’t have asked for a better team. What an honor and pleasure it has been to work with such high-caliber Airmen and Soldiers.”
| Date Taken: | 04.04.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.05.2025 10:19 |
| Story ID: | 494649 |
| Location: | LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 174 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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