Ralph J. Capio was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in 1965 from the Air Force ROTC program at Rutgers University. He then trained as a Navigator-Bombardier, and, after earning his wings, was assigned, in 1967, to his first operational unit–the 380th Strategic Aerospace Wing, Plattsburgh AFB, NY. During the next three years, at Plattsburgh, as a member of Select and Lead B-52 crews, he stood nuclear alert, flew airborne nuclear alert missions, and deployed to Southeast Asia flying B-52 combat missions in Vietnam.
After returning to the US, he separated from active duty, joining the New York Air National Guard, and enrolling in law school at Union University, Albany Law School, simultaneously enrolling in the Public Administration program at the State University of New York at Albany. He was recalled to active military duty in 1974, after graduating from Albany Law School with a Juris Doctor (JD) degree and from SUNY with a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree, and after being admitted to the NY bar. He was appointed an Air Force judge advocate (JAG), and was posted to various AF assignments around the world, including Germany, Japan, Italy, and Saudia Arabia, as well as military bases within the US. He also completed a Master of Law (LL.M.) degree at George Washington University, specializing in Government Contract Law. And, he earned a Master of International Business (MIB) degree from Saint Louis University. He is a Distinguished Graduate of Squadron Officers School, Air Command and Staff College, and the National Defense University. By his retirement from the military, in 1998, he had spent 30 years in active service, in addition to 4 years in the New York Air National Guard. During that time, he received the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Air Medal, the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Gulf War Campaign Medal, and, in 1992, he was selected as the Outstanding Senior Air Force Attorney.
After military service he engaged in the private practice of law in St Louis as a member of a noted law firm, moving next to Las Vegas, where he established a government contracts consulting firm. He is presently a Senior Instructor for Government Training Inc., and for TwentyEighty StrategyExecution, teaching government contracting seminars around the country.
He and his wife, Heather, formerly from Montreal, Canada, have been married for 50 years. They have one son, Christopher, of St Louis, and three beautiful granddaughters, Lia, Evy and Irie.
