Gamble entered the USAF in 1967 through the four-year
Reserve Officer Training Corps program at
Texas A&M University. He flew 394 combat missions as a
forward air controller in the
O-1 Bird Dog during the
Vietnam War. He has commanded a fighter squadron and three wings. Before assuming his current position, he was deputy chief of staff for air and space operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. He retired from the USAF on May 1, 2001.
Following his service in the Air Force, Gamble became a senior executive for the
Alaska Railroad, where he succeeded
Bill Sheffield as president of the railroad.[3][4] In 2010, he retired from the railroad and accepted appointment as president of the
University of Alaska, succeeding
Mark R. Hamilton, himself a retired
U.S. Army general. In December 2014 Gamble announced his resignation from the University of Alaska and he was succeeded in September 2015 by
Jim Johnsen.
Education
1967 Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics,
Texas A&M University, College Station
January 1974 – January 1975, Air Staff Training Assignment, Directorate of Personnel Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
August 1977 – July 1978, student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama
July 1978 – May 1981, chief, Air Threat Analysis Group (Red Team), Project Checkmate, Directorate of Operations and Readiness, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
July 1983 – June 1984, student, Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama
June 1984 – July 1986, chief, Operations Management and Analysis Division; chief, Contingency Plans Division; deputy director, then director, Personnel Plans and Systems, Headquarters
Tactical Air Command,
Langley Air Force Base, Virginia