By Katie McCrocklin
Within a year of mandatory retirement, Air Force Col. Bobby V. Page received some unexpected news – a promotion.Page, who graduated from LSU in 1973 with a degree in history, was promoted to Brigadier General on Aug. 2 and assigned as the Deputy Chief of Chaplains at the Pentagon. He was previously Command Chaplain for Air Education and Training Command (AETC) with headquarters at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, Page describes his success with gratitude, “What an amazing honor to be able to continue serving America’s Airmen and working for our Chief of Chaplains providing leadership for our Air Force Chaplain Corps.”
While he undeniably has had a prosperous career, he stays humble, saying, “My wife, Ruth, and I believe we are blessed beyond words.”
Commissioned through the LSU Air Force ROTC, Page earned his wings at Mather Air Force Base in 1975, serving as a navigator, instructor navigator, and senior navigator for the Standards and Evaluations section. In January, 1980, he separated from the Air Force to attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas where he earned his Master of Divinity degree in 1983. For the next six years, he served pastorates in Arkansas and North Carolina while serving as a chaplain in the Air National Guard in Arkansas and Georgia and the Air Force Reserve in South Carolina.
Since returning to active duty on July 4, 1989, Page has served in chaplain assignments at the wing, two major commands, and Headquarters U.S. Air Force. He completed a Doctor of Ministry Degree from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1999 and deployed later that same year serving as the wing chaplain at Prince Sultan Air Force Base (PSAB), Saudi Arabia. Several years later he returned to PSAB to lead the largest chapel team in the CENTCOM area of responsibility during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. During that deployment Page established the first Air Force chaplain ministry at the Baghdad International Airport in Iraq.
Katie McCrocklin, a graduating senior in English, writes for LSU Alumni Magazine.