Lieutenant General Mark H. Berry of the Arkansas Air
National Guard retired from Ozark. General Barry served four combat tours and
earned several awards, including the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of
Merit, five Meritorious Service Medals, the Joint Services Commendation Medal,
eight Air Force Commendation Medals, and the Air Force Achievement Medal. He is
notably the first Air Force general officer to be appointed adjutant general of
the Arkansas National Guard and the first military officer appointed to the
grade of Lieutenant General by the governor of Arkansas. General Barry retired
after 45 years of military service with more than 21 years of active duty and
24 years with the Arkansas National Guard.
General Berry held various assignments that included
presidentially directed special projects and programs with the Department of
Energy and the Department of Defense, special projects and testing in Nevada,
operations officer for air operations at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul,
South Korea, and assistant professor at the Air Force Officer Training School,
University of Arkansas Fayetteville. He also completed four combat deployments
supporting Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, and New Dawn, and served
in 12 foreign countries.