Jim Ritchie

James (Jim) Ritchie is a retired Chief Master Sergeant with over 30 years of experience. He entered the Air Force in July 1985 as a Heavy Equipment Vehicle Mechanic and spent almost 9 years in the service in that career field.  In 1993, Jim was crossed-trained into the Accounting and Finance career field where he served in Travel Pay and Budget sections.  In 2003, Jim shifted his career to become a First Sergeant, a position he held for almost 10 years.

Throughout his distinguished career, Jim had deployments in Iraq, UAE, and Afghanistan where he served as Group Superintendent for the 838 AEAG.  He also was fortunate to serve at many overseas assignments: England, Sicily, Portugal, Iceland, Korea, and Alaska.  His last two assignments he had the opportunity to serve in two thirds of the nuclear triad by holding positions in 91st Missile Wing and the 5th Bomb Wing.  Before Jim’s retirement in July 2014, Jim’s final assignment was Superintendent of the 5th Operations Group.

Jim holds multiple Associate degrees from the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF), and a Bachelor of Arts with a Concentration in Education from Ashford University.  After his retirement he taught JROTC for six years and retired from full time teaching and chose to substitute instead.  He also was a part-time ranch hand for a 3700 acre ranch. Jim currently works part time at Minot State University in Human Resources.