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Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. John Dan “Razin’” Caine, a 1990 graduate of Virginia Military Institute with a degree in economics, was nominated last month by President Donald Trump to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s highest-ranking military officer.
Caine was commissioned into the Air Force through VMI’s ROTC program. During his active duty career, he flew more than 150 combat hours primarily as an F-16 fighter pilot. On Sept. 11, 2001, he was the lead aviator who flew over Washington, D.C., protecting the skies from terrorist attacks.
According to media reports, Caine’s military career followed an unusual trajectory. The New York Times reported that he was a counterterrorism specialist on the White House’s Homeland Security Council under President George W. Bush, and that he served in several highly secretive intelligence and special operations assignments.
Among his military awards and decorations are the Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for heroism while in flight, the Defense Superior Service Medal and a Bronze Star with bronze oak leaf cluster. After he retired from military service in December, he joined a venture capital firm called Shield Capital.
