Rodney P. Kelly is a retired Major General in the United States Air Force who served as assistant deputy chief of staff for plans and programs for the United States Air Force in Washington, D.C. From his office at The Pentagon, he was responsible for planning and programming, and for manpower activities within the corporate Air Force until his retirement in 2001. A native of southern Illinois, Kelly was commissioned lieutenant after completing the Reserve Officer Training Corps program in 1967 at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He is a command and combat pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours. Before assuming his current position, he directed operations at the headquarters of U.S. Space Command.