Officer Embedded with Iraqi Air Force MOAA Guest Speaker

Written by Bob Dill

Apr 16, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Major William F. “Bill” Ray Major William F. “Bill” Ray, United States Air Force, currently commander of the 20th Maintenance Operations Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base, was the guest speaker at a recent dinner meeting of the Greenville Chapter of Military Officers Association of America. Major Ray completed a 6-month deployment to Iraq as an embedded maintenance advisor to the Iraqi Air Force at Basrah Air Station, Iraq, some 15 miles from the Iranian border. Maj. Ray has completed 20 years of combined reserve and active duty service as an enlisted member of the 413th Chemical Company, US Army Reserves in Florence, SC, and as a commissioned US Air Force Officer. He was deployed to Saudi  Arabia with the 413th Chemical Co. in 1990 in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. After retuning to the States Ray enrolled in the College of Charleston and upon graduation in 1995 was commissioned in the United States Air Force. He discussed some of the cultural customs that tend to slow the progress of Iraqi military training. At the same time, he was very complimentary of “a lot of Iraqi’s who are ‘sticking their neck out’” to defend their drastically changing nation. Major Ray is married to the former Susan Wikle Minor of Greenville and they have three children; Mary Elizabeth, William and Matthew. The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) is a nonprofit veterans’ association dedicated to maintaining a strong national defense and to preserving the earned entitlements of members of the uniformed services and their families and survivors. Membership is open to those who hold or have ever held a warrant or commission in any component of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Public Health Service or NOAA and their surviving spouses. For additional information regarding membership, write MOAA Greenville, PO Box 25095, Greenville, SC 29616 or contact The Times Examiner  at Tel: (864) 268-0576 or by email at