Rick graduated in 1979 with a B.A. in Chemistry from Colorado College; in 1983, Saint Louis University with his doctorate in Medicine. He entered active duty as a surgical intern and then served as a squadron flight surgeon flying F-16 fighter jets at Torrejon Air Base, Spain. While there he received the Malcolm C Grow Award as the USAF Flight Surgeon of the Year for 1985.
After completing a second squadron flight surgeon tour, General Hersack completed his residency in Anesthesiology graduating in 1993. He was awarded the Air Force Surgeon General’s Award for the best Anesthesia Research Paper and the Arthur B. Tarrow Award for Outstanding Residents Research. He rose to become the Arthur B. Tarrow Chair, Department of Anesthesia. During this time, the general was one of the original developers of the Mobile Field Surgical Team and Critical Care Air Transport Team. These teams are credited with saving the lives of thousands of US and allied military and civilian personnel injured during combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and safely returning them home.
General Hersack then attended the USAF Air War College graduating in 2000 with a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies. He also received the Thomas “Dutch” Miller Award for Outstanding USAF Counterproliferations Center Research. Other positions include Air Force Surgeon General Chair to the Air University; Command Surgeon, AF Reserve Command; Commander, 51st Medical Group, Osan Air Base, Korea; Chief, Medical Readiness Policy and Operations for the Air Force Surgeon General; and Command Surgeon and Director, Health Services, AF Materiel Command. After retiring from active duty, Dr Hersack served in a civilian capacity as the Chair, Department of Aeromedical Research, USAF School of Aerospace Medicine. Other duty locations include California, South Carolina, San Antonio, TX; Alabama, Georgia and Ohio. He retired from active duty in 2011 and from government civilian service in 2020.
Off duty, General Hersack participated in numerous local church fellowships and activities. He taught adult Sunday School classes, led home fellowship small groups, sang in and conducted church and air base chapel choirs, served as a church elder and participated in short-term medical mission trips to Mexico and Honduras. He also played trumpet in local community bands. Currently he is serving on his local church’s Missionary Committee. General Hersack met his wife, Sharon, while a student at Colorado College. They married in 1979. They have two sons, Jonathan and Stephen, and six grandchildren.
