Draft:Hiroaki Uchikura

General Hiroaki Uchikura (内倉 浩昭) is a Japanese military officer who has served as the 37th Chief of Staff, Air Self-Defense Force for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force since March 2023.

Biography
Born in 1965 in the city of Tarumizu in Kagoshima Prefecture Uchikura graduated from Kagoshima Prefectural Kanoya High School (Japanese: 鹿児島県立鹿屋高等学校) in 1983 and graduated from the National Defense Academy of Japan in March 1987 and joined the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).

In the JASDF Uchikura served as a pilot flying the F-15 Eagle

In 2001 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and assigned to the 6th Air Wing in December 2003.

In 2006 he was promoted to Colonel and attended the Air Staff College the following year.

Starting in 2008 he was assigned to the Defense Divison of the Air Staff eventually becoming its director in 2010.

In 2012 he was promoted to Major General and made commander of the 5th Air Wing and the Nyutabaru Air Base.

In 2014 he was made the General Manager of Defense of the Air Defense Command followed by an appointment as Deputy Director of the Defense Planning Department of the Joint Staff Supervision Department in 2015.

In 2018 he was promoted to Lieutenant General and posted as a senior member of the Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency.

Uchikura was appointed Deputy Chief of Air Staff in 2019 and made Commander of the Air Defense Command the next year.



On 30 March 2023 Uchikura succeeded General Shunji Izutsu as the 37th Chief of the Air Staff.



Awards

 * Legion of Merit ribbon.svg - Legionnaire, Legion of Merit

Defensive memorial cordon

 * Japan Self-Defense Forces Service Ribbon 05.svg 5th Defensive Memorial Cordon
 * Japan Self-Defense Forces Service Ribbon 06.svg 6th Defensive Memorial Cordon
 * Japan Self-Defense Forces Service Ribbon 07.svg 7th Defensive Memorial Cordon
 * Japan Self-Defense Forces Service Ribbon 09.svg 9th Defensive Memorial Cordon
 * Japan Self-Defense Forces Service Ribbon 10.svg 10th Defensive Memorial Cordon
 * Japan Self-Defense Forces Service Ribbon 11.svg 11th Defensive Memorial Cordon	with one Silver Cherry Blossom
 * Japan Self-Defense Forces Service Ribbon 13.svg 13th Defensive Memorial Cordon	 with one Silver Cherry Blossom
 * Japan Self-Defense Forces Service Ribbon 15.svg 15th Defensive Memorial Cordon
 * Japan Self-Defense Forces Service Ribbon 18.svg 18th Defensive Memorial Cordon	with one Silver Cherry Blossom
 * Japan Self-Defense Forces Service Ribbon 19.svg 19th Defensive Memorial Cordon
 * Japan Self-Defense Forces Service Ribbon 20.svg 20th Defensive Memorial Cordon
 * Japan Self-Defense Forces Service Ribbon 22.svg 22nd Defensive Memorial Cordon
 * Japan Self-Defense Forces Service Ribbon 25.svg 25th Defensive Memorial Cordon	with one Silver Cherry Blossom
 * Japan Self-Defense Forces Service Ribbon 26.svg 26th Defensive Memorial Cordon	with two Silver Cherry Blossoms
 * Japan Self-Defense Forces Service Ribbon 27.svg 27th Defensive Memorial Cordon
 * Unknown
 * Japan Self-Defense Forces Service Ribbon 32.svg 32nd Defensive Memorial Cordon
 * Japan Self-Defense Forces Service Ribbon 33.svg 33rd Defensive Memorial Cordon
 * Japan Self-Defense Forces Service Ribbon 36.svg 36th Defensive Memorial Cordon with two Silver Cherry Blossoms