Ronald Robert Fogleman

General, U.S. Air Force

Ronald Robert Fogleman was born on 27 January 1942. A 1963 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, he was the first graduate to advance to Chief of Staff of the Air Force.

In early assignments, Fogleman instructed student pilots and performed combat duty as a fighter pilot, and as a high-speed Forward Air Controller (FAC) in Vietnam and Thailand. He taught History at the Air Force Academy and conducted flight operations in Europe - including duty as an F-15 Eagle aircraft demonstration pilot for international airshows. He commanded an Air Force wing, an air division, a numbered air force, a major command and a unified command.

A Command Pilot, he amassed over 6,800 flying hours in fighter, transport, tanker and rotary-wing aircraft that included: T-37, T-33, F-100, F-4, F-15, F-16, A-10, C-21 and C-141. He flew 315 combat missions and logged 806 hours of combat flying in fighter aircraft. Eighty of his missions were as a "Misty FAC" in the F-100F Super Sabre at Phu Cat Air Base between 25 December 1968 and 23 April 1969.

Resignation as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force

On 27 July 1997, Air Force Chief of Staff General Ronald R. Fogelman asked Secretary of the Air Force Sheila Widnall to relieve him of his duty and allow him to retire a year before he was scheduled to do so.  Fogelman was resigning over Secretary Widnall's refusal to promote Brigadier General Terry Schwalier.

Brigadier General Terry Schwalier was the commander of the Saudi Arabian facility at which the al-Qaeda bombing of the Khobar Towers killed 19 American servicemen and he was denied a promotion.  Fogelman, after an investigation, determined that Schwalier did everything a commander could have done to prevent it, but Widnall insisted someone be held accountable. She chose Schwalier.

In a 1997 interview, Fogelman talked about his many frustrations with the civilian leadership, ranging from fact-defying decisions on force structure to the subject of Schwalier.

For General Fogelman, Widnall's decision on Schwalier was the last straw. Fogelman said, "As chief of staff of the United States Air Force, charged with providing military advice to the civilian leadership that the civilian leadership did not value for whatever reason, I had become ineffective as a spokesman.

This was a crowd that took any kind of military advice that ran counter to administration policy or desires as a sign of disloyalty on the part of the person providing the advice. That was one element; the other was based on what I had seen and the way the Khobar Towers tragedy had been handled. I simply lost respect and confidence in the leadership that I was supposed to be following."

General Ronald R. Fogleman retired from the Air Force on 1 September 1997.

Medals and Awards

Defense Distinguished Service Medal (3 Awards)

Air Force Distinguished Service Medal (2 Awards)

Army Distinguished Service Medal

Navy Distinguished Service Medal

Silver Star Medal

Legion of Merit (2 Awards)

Distinguished Flying Cross (2 Awards)

Purple Heart

Meritorious Service Medal

Air Medal (18 Awards)

Aerial Achievement Medal

Air Force Commendation Medal (3 Awards)

Vietnam Service Medal with 3 Service Stars

Order of National Security Merit, Kooksun, Republic of Korea

Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm

Venezuelan Air Force Cross, First Class

Knight Grand Cross (First Class) of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand

Grand Cordon, First Class, Order of the Rising Sun, Japan

Royal Order of the Polar Star, First Class, Sweden

Legion of Honor, with the rank of Commander, France

Legion of Merit, Grand Cross, Cooperation System of the American Air Forces

Badges

Command Pilot Badge
Parachutist Badge
Basic Missileman Badge
Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge

He also has pilot wings from: Republic of Korea, Romania and Thailand

Education
1963 Bachelor of science degree, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO.
1971 Master's degree in military history and political science, Duke University, NC.
1976 Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, PA.

Assignments
1. June 1963 - September 1964, pilot training, 3576th Student Squadron, Vance AFB, OK.
2. September 1964 - May 1967, T-37 flight training instructor, 3575th Pilot Training Squadron, Vance AFB, OK.
3. May 1967 - December 1967, flight examiner, 3575th Pilot Training Wing, Vance AFB, OK.
4. December 1967 - June 1968, F-100 combat crew training, Luke AFB, AZ.
5. June 1968 - December 1968, F-100 fighter pilot, 510th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Bien Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam
6. December 1968 - April 1969, Operation Commando Sabre F-100 forward air controller, 37th Tactical Fighter Wing, South Vietnam
7. April 1969 - September 1969, F-100 fighter pilot, 510th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Bien Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam
8. September 1969 - December 1970, student, history; preparation for U.S. Air Force Academy instructor, Duke University, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH.
9. December 1970 - April 1973, history instructor, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO.
10. April 1973 - August 1974, F-4D/E flight commander, 421st Tactical Fighter Squadron, Udorn Royal Thai AFB, Thailand
11. August 1974 - July 1975, chief, rated officer career planning section, Headquarters Air Reserve Personnel Center, Lowry AFB, CO.
12. July 1975 - August 1976, student officer, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, PA.
13. August 1976 - February 1978, assistant deputy commander for operations, later, chief of the standardization and evaluation division, 36th Tactical Fighter Wing, Bitburg Air Base, West Germany
14. March 1978 - June 1979, deputy commander for operations, 32nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, Camp New Amsterdam, Netherlands
15. June 1979 - August 1981, chief, tactical forces division, directorate of programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, DC.
16. August 1981 - June 1982, vice commander, 388th Tactical Fighter Wing, Hill AFB, UT.
17. June 1982 - March 1983, director of fighter operations, deputy chief of staff, operations, Headquarters Tactical Air Command, Langley AFB, VA.
18. March 1983 - August 1984, commander, 56th Tactical Training Wing, MacDill AFB, FL.
19. August 1984 - March 1986, commander, 836th Air Division, Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ.
20. March 1986 - January 1988, deputy director, programs and evaluation, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, programs and resources; chairman, Programs Review Committee, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, DC.
21. January 1988 - June 1990, director, programs and evaluation, and chairman, Air Staff Board, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, DC.
22. July 1990 - August 1992, commander, 7th Air Force, deputy commander in chief, United Nations Command; deputy commander, U.S. Forces Korea; and commander, Republic of Korea/U.S. Air Component Command, Combined Forces Command, Osan Air Base, Korea
23. August 1992 - October 1994, CINCUSTRANSCOM; commander, AMC, Scott AFB, IL.
24. October 1994 - August 1997, chief of staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, DC.

Other Achievements

Fellow, Inter University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society
Member, Council on Foreign Relations, New York City
Lance P. Sijan USAF Leadership Award
H.H. Arnold Trophy

Effective Dates of Promotion

Second Lieutenant: 5 June 1963
First Lieutenant: 5 December 1964
Captain: 10 March, 1967
Major: 1 March, 1971
Lieutenant Colonel: 1 May 1975
Colonel: 1 January 1980
Brigadier General: 1 October 1985
Major General: 1 February 1988
Lieutenant General: 1 July 1990
General: 1 September 1992

In Retirement

General Fogleman currently has a seat of Boards of Directors of Alliant Techsystems, AAR Corporation, Mesa Air Group, Inc., and World Air Holdings, Inc.

On 11 November 2009, General Fogleman was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors at Alliant Techsystems Inc., following the retirement of ATK Chairman and CEO Dan Murphy.