Another Air Force general now has a large sword.
This past week, Lt. Gen. John P. Healy was inducted into the Air Force’s Order of the Sword, the service’s weapon-themed society that honors leaders for their work, the Air Force announced.
Healy, the Chief of Air Force Reserve and Commander of Air Force Reserve Command since 2022, was inducted into the Order of the Sword on May 14, 2026 in a ceremony at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia. According to the Air Force, which has inducted officers into the order since 1967, the Order of the Sword honors senior officers for “conspicuous and significant contributions to the welfare and prestige of the Air Force enlisted force, mission effectiveness as well as the overall military establishment.”
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Chief Master Sgt. Israel Nuñez, the senior enlisted advisor for the Air Force Reserve and who presented Healy with the honor (and a physical sword), noted Healy’s work to help create an enlisted force development strategy as well as extensive efforts to improve the quality of life for enlisted airmen.
The Order of the Sword goes back to the 1960s and is a long-standing Air Force tradition, where senior enlisted airmen honor officers for their work helping the rank and file. Allegedly, and per written Air Force statements, the tradition is drawn from the British Royal Order of the Sword, as well as Sweden’s Military Order of the Sword. The latter is real, established in 1748. The British example, however, is not. What is real are the actual swords the Air Force busts out for these ceremonies.
Each command often displays a comically large sword for these events, as well as a specific sword given to the honorees. The swords themselves are often massive, ornate and in many cases look like something out of a “Final Fantasy” game or anime like “Berserk.” While Healy and other presenters were on stage, a large “Thundercats”-esc sword (bearing the Air Force logo, of course), sat in front of them, a large and presumably sharp reminder of what the event is about.
In the case of the weapon Healy was presented with, his sword is not just any sword, but one “patterned after the legendary sword Excalibur,” King Arthur’s mythic blade, according to the Air Force. The Air Force did not say in its release what depiction of Excalibur it used as a reference, but the sword does resemble the one from the 1981 John Boorman film “Excalibur.”
In its announcement of Healy’s honor, Air Force Reserve Command described the sword as “a symbol of truth, justice and power rightfully used.”
Although more than 200 officers in the Air Force as a whole have been inducted into the order, Healy is only the 18th to receive the Air Force Reserve’s version of the honor.
Healy is the top Air Force Reserve officer, advising the Secretary of the Air Force on matters tied to reserve units. He has been a commissioned officer since 1989, and served as a pilot, strategist and staffer at the Pentagon.
