William J. "Bill" Donahue is a retired

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

for the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

who transformed networks and communications during his long career. He retired in May 2000 as the director of communications and information at

Air Force Headquarters The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

and commander of the Air Force Communications and Information Center in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

During his 33-year Air Force career, Donahue served in a variety of

communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

information Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random ...

command and control Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...

positions at virtually every level in the Air Force. During his active-duty career, Donahue led the Internet and information technology transformation in the Air Force. Donahue has an undergraduate degree in mathematics and a master's degree in logistics management from the

Air Force Institute of Technology The Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) is a graduate school and provider of professional and continuing education for the United States Armed Forces and is part of the United States Air Force. It is in Ohio at Wright-Patterson Air Forc ...

. He is also a graduate of the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Colle ...

, the executive development program of the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, and the national security program of Harvard's

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

. Since retirement from the Air Force, Donahue has worked in the government information technology industry. He is executive vice president, federal solutions for Sytel and is a member of several corporate and advisory boards for leading information technology companies. From 2000 to 2003 Donahue was vice president and general manager for CSC's aerospace business unit, where he had operational responsibility for the delivery of information technology solutions, support services, and space systems solutions to the Air Force. He currently is involved in promoting and advocating for diabetes research.

Air Force biography

Lt. Gen. Donahue was director, communications and information, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, and commander, Air Force Communications and Information Center, Washington, D.C. He was responsible for strategic plans, doctrine, policies, architecture and standards for communications and information systems in the Air Force. He was the functional manager for more than 75,000 communications and information professionals in the Air Force. He was responsible for three field operating agencies: the Air Force Communications Agency, the Air Force Pentagon Communications Agency and the Air Force Frequency Management Agency. The general entered active duty in September 1966 and was commissioned in November 1966 through Officer Training School. He has commanded two communications groups and has served as the chief communications-computer officer for the

Iceland Defense Force The Iceland Defense Force ( is, Varnarlið Íslands; IDF) was a military command of the United States Armed Forces from 1951 to 2006. The IDF, created at the request of NATO, came into existence when the United States signed an agreement to prov ...

, two numbered air forces and two major commands.

Education

*1966 Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics,

Bellarmine College Bellarmine University (BU; ) is a private Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest ...

, Kentucky *1972 Master of Science degree in logistics management,

*1973 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama *1985 National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. *1990 University of California's Executive Development Course

Assignments

* September 1966 – November 1966, student, Officer Training School,

Lackland Air Force Base Lackland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located in Bexar County, Texas. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 802d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and an enclave of the city of Sa ...

, Texas * December 1966 – October 1967, student, basic communications-electronics course,

Keesler Air Force Base Keesler Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Biloxi, a city along the Gulf Coast in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. The base is named in honor of aviator 2d Lt Samuel Reeves Keesler Jr., a Mississippi nati ...

, Mississippi * October 1967 – January 1971, communications operations officer, 2135th Communications Squadron,

Ramstein Air Base Ramstein Air Base or Ramstein AB is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and also ...

, West Germany * January 1971 – February 1972, student,

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene County, Ohio, Greene and Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patte ...

, Ohio * February 1972 – April 1973, instructor, basic communications-electronics officer course, Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi * April 1973 – April 1975, chief, Electronic Principles Branch, School of Applied Aerospace Science, Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi * December 1975 – November 1979, logistics plans officer, Headquarters Air Force Communications Service,

Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base Richards-Gebaur Memorial Airport is a former airport that operated alongside Richards-Gebaur Air Reserve Station (also Richards-Gebaur Air Force Station) until the base's closure in 1994, and until it was closed in 1999. Formerly, it was oper ...

, Missouri * November 1979 – October 1980, assistant chief of staff, Headquarters Air Force Communications Command,

Scott Air Force Base Scott Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in St. Clair County, Illinois, near Belleville and O'Fallon, east-southeast of downtown St. Louis. Scott Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the U ...

, Illinois * October 1980 – September 1981, assistant chief of staff, communications-electronics,

Keflavik Naval Air Station Naval Air Station Keflavik (NASKEF) was a United States Navy station at Keflavík International Airport, Iceland, located on the Reykjanes peninsula on the south-west portion of the island. NASKEF was closed on 8 September 2006, and its facilitie ...

, Iceland * September 1981 – December 1982, executive officer, Headquarters Air Force Communications Command, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois * December 1982 – June 1984, commander, 1901st Communications Group,

Travis Air Force Base Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command (AMC), located three miles (5 km) east of the central business district of the city of Fairfield, in Solano County, Californi ...

, California * June 1984 – July 1985, student, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. * July 1985 – July 1987, commander, 1956th Communications Group, and deputy chief of staff for communications-computer systems, Headquarters 5th Air Force,

Yokota Air Base , is a Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) and United States Air Force (USAF) base in the Tama Area, or Western Tokyo. It occupies portions of Akishima, Fussa, Hamura, Mizuho, Musashimurayama, and Tachikawa. The base houses 14,000 personnel ...

, Japan * July 1987 – May 1989, deputy program manager, then program manager, Worldwide Military Command and Control System Information Systems Joint Program Management Office, McLean, Virginia * May 1989 – August 1991, assistant to the deputy chief of staff for command, control, communications and computers, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. * August 1991 – June 1992, deputy chief of staff for communications-computer systems, Headquarters Tactical Air Command,

Langley Air Force Base Langley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Hampton, Virginia, adjacent to Newport News, Virginia, Newport News. It was one of List of airfields of the Training Section of the United States Army Air Service, thirty-two ...

, Virginia * June 1992 – August 1994, director, communications-computer systems, Headquarters Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia * August 1994 – December 1996, director, command control systems for NORAD; director, command control systems for U.S. Space Command; and director, communications-computer systems for Air Force Space Command,

Peterson Air Force Base Peterson Space Force Base, previously Peterson Air Force Base, Peterson Field, and Army Air Base, Colorado Springs, is a U.S. Space Force Base that shares an airfield with the adjacent Colorado Springs Municipal Airport and is home to the Nor ...

, Colorado * December 1996 – March 1997 deputy chief of staff for communications and information, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. * April 1997 – May 2000, director, communications and information, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, and commander, Air Force Communications and Information Center, Washington, D.C.

Major awards and decorations

Defense Distinguished Service Medal ribbon

Defense Distinguished Service Medal The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to the ...

US Defense Superior Service Medal ribbon

Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant ...

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: *Meritorious Civilian Service Award *Meritorious Service Med ...

with two oak leaf clusters *

Joint Service Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

Air Force Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

Effective dates of promotion

Second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

November 24, 1966 *

First lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

May 25, 1968 *

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

November 29, 1969 *

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

May 1, 1977 *

Lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

October 1, 1980 *

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

November 1, 1984 *

Brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

July 2, 1992 *

Major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

September 28, 1994 *

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

January 1, 1997

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donahue, William J. United States Air Force generals Living people Air Force Institute of Technology alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit Harvard Kennedy School alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Bellarmine University alumni Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Year of birth missing (living people)