The featured speaker for the Veterans Club January 11th, 2022, meeting is Brigadier General Robert G. Novotny. He has a distinguished 28-year career in the United States Air Force, achieving numerous high-level positions covering operations and logistics, operational test and emerging technologies, and development and acquisition. He served as the 57th Wing Commander, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada where he was responsible for 38 squadrons at 13 installations constituting the Air Force's most diverse flying wing. General Novotny was responsible for four groups: 57th Adversary Tactics Group, 57th Operations Group, 57th Maintenance Group and the U.S. Air Force Weapons School. In addition, he oversaw the 561st Joint Tactics Squadron; U.S. Air Force Advanced Maintenance and Munitions Operations School; U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, the Thunderbirds; and the Red Flag and Green Flag exercises.
Brigadier General Novotny was commissioned in 1992 upon graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy and earned his wings at Laughlin AFB, Texas. He completed five operational F-15 assignments with extensive test and combat experience, in addition to serving as an action officer at a major command, a fighter squadron commander, and a test and evaluation group commander. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Weapons School, the Naval Command & Staff College, the School of Advanced Air & Space Studies, and the National War College. Brigadier General Novotny is a command pilot with more than 2,500 flight hours in 12 different aircraft, primarily in the F-15C/D/E, and more than 540 combat hours. His many assignments took him to such diverse places as Hickam, Sheppard and Langley Air Force Bases, Kadena Air Base in Japan, Kabul, Afghanistan, RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom and lastly, Nellis AFB.
After retiring from the Air Force in 2020 he co-founded the DARE Venture Group providing in-depth consultations and advisory services to federal contracting firms bidding to provide the United States Air Force with the communications equipment, defense, and warfare machinery they require.