181st IW To Celebrate Service Of Local Native Maj. Gen. Clark During Ceremony Today At Hulman Field

The 181st Intelligence Wing will honor the service of retired Air Force Maj. Gen. L. Kip Clark, former senior Air National Guard advisor to Air Force Special Operations Command and previous commander of the 181st IW, during a retirement ceremony at 3 p.m. in Hangar One.

Clark, a Clay County native who enlisted in the Indiana ANG in 1984, commissioned from the Academy of Military Science in 1987 and served as a weapons systems officer before completing pilot training in 1992. Clark later earned the rating of command pilot with more than 2,700 flight hours in the T-37 Tweet, T-38 Talon, F-4D and E Phantom II variants and finishing in the F-16C Fighting Falcon.

Clark served multiple combat deployments for Operation Northern Watch and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He also deployed as the 113th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron commander in support of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Additionally, Clark was a Distributed Ground Station mission operations commander supporting OIF and Operation Enduring Freedom combat missions.

At the national level, Clark served five years as the ANG intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) Weapon System Council Chairman and on the Air Directorate Field Advisory Council. He also completed two National Guard Bureau short tours, assisting on projects regarding airspace, ranges and ISR force allocation.

Prior to his final assignment, Clark was dual-hatted as the ANG assistant to United States Air Force Europe/Africa A3/10 and as the assistant adjutant general-air/commander, Indiana ANG. He was a senior advisor to the Indiana adjutant general on matters pertaining to the 2,000 Indiana Airmen, state employees and contractors at the 122nd Fighter Wing and 181st Intelligence Wing.

In July 2019, Clark began serving as the senior ANG advisor to Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, Florida. He provided insight and advice on the planning and integration for the command’s ANG personnel, working with direct access to senior National Guard leadership. Clark retired from this position on Oct. 23, 2021, concluding his military career with a total of 37 years of service.

Clark’s education includes a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Indiana State University and a Master of Science in Management from Oakland City University.