Lieutenant General David J. McCloud (February 15, 1945 – July 26, 1998) was an American Air Force lieutenant general. His final assignment was as commander of Alaskan Command,

11th Air Force The Eleventh Air Force (11 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska.This unit is not related to the Eleventh Air Force headquart ...

, and the Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region, headquartered at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. He grew up in

Sun Valley, California Sun Valley is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California in the San Fernando Valley region. The neighborhood is known for its overall youthful population and moderate racial diversity. There are three recreation centers in Sun Valley, one of which ...

and was a graduate of

John H. Francis Polytechnic High School John H. Francis Polytechnic High School is a secondary school located in the Sun Valley neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It serves grades 9 through 12 and is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Despite its na ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering from

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

and a Master of Arts Degree in Management and Supervision from

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

, Mount Pleasant. He entered the US Air Force in 1969 and was a distinguished graduate of Officer Training School, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. He was a command pilot with more than 4,100 flying hours, principally in fighter aircraft. He died 26 July 1998 in Anchorage, Alaska, when the aircraft he was piloting crashed. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Military education

*1975

Squadron Officer School Squadron Officer School (SOS), is a 5.5-week-long Professional Military Education (PME) course for U.S. Air Force and Space Force Captains, Department of the Air Force Civilian (DAFC) equivalents and International Officers. It fulfills the U.S ...

, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama *1975 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama *1985 Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama *1990

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 ...

, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. *1991 Program for Senior Officials in National Security, Harvard University,

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 ...

, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Military assignments

*April 1969 - May 1970, student, undergraduate pilot training, Reese Air Force Base, Texas *May 1970 - January 1971, student, F-102 interceptor pilot training, Perrin Air Force Base, Texas *January 1971 - March 1973, F-106 Pilot, 94th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan *March 1973 - February 1975, F-106 Instructor Pilot and Air National Guard Adviser, 191st Fighter Interceptor Group, Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan *February 1975 - October 1975, F-4D/E Pilot, 31st Tactical Fighter Wing,

Homestead Air Force Base, Florida Homestead Air Reserve Base (Homestead ARB), previously known as Homestead Air Force Base (Homestead AFB) is located in Miami–Dade County, Florida to the northeast of the city of Homestead. It is home to the 482nd Fighter Wing (482 FW) of the ...

*October 1975 - December 1975, F-4D/E Pilot,

4th Tactical Fighter Wing The 4th Fighter Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command's Ninth Air Force. It is stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, where it is also the host unit. The wing is one of two Air Force uni ...

Udon Royal Thai Air Force Base : ''For the United States use of the facility during the Vietnam War see Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base'' Udon Thani International Airport ( th, ท่าอากาศยานอุดรธานี) is an international airport near the ci ...

, Thailand *December 1975 - October 1976, F-4D/E Pilot, Wing Weapons and Tactics Officer, 12th Tactical Fighter Squadron,

Kadena Air Base, Japan (IATA: DNA, ICAO: RODN) is a highly strategic United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is often referred to as the "Keystone of the Pacific" because of its highl ...

*October 1976 - April 1979, F-5E Instructor Pilot, Flight Commander, Chief of Academics and Detachment Commander, 64th and 65th Aggressor Squadrons, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada *April 1979 - November 1981, Advanced Air-to-Air Tactics Test and Training Mission Project Pilot, Section Chief for Special Projects, Flight Commander and Assistant Operations Officer, 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada *November 1981 - April 1984, Action Officer and Program Element Monitor, Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Operations, Special Projects Office, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. *July 1984 - August 1985, Deputy Assistant Director for Special Projects, Washington, D.C. *August 1985 - August 1987, A-7D/F-117A Pilot, Assistant Deputy Commander for Operations, 4450th Tactical Group, Tonopah Test Range, Nevada *August 1987 - August 1989, Director of Advanced Programs, Headquarters Tactical Air Command, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia *August 1989 - June 1990, student, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. *June 1990 - March 1991, Commander, 24th Composite Wing, Howard Air Force Base, Panama *July 1991 - June 1993, Commander,

1st Fighter Wing The 1st Fighter Wing (1 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Fifteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Langley Air Force Base, VA. where it is a tenant unit, being supported by the 633d Air Base Wing. Its 1 ...

, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia *June 1993 - August 1994, Commander, 366th Composite Wing, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho *August 1994 - May 1996, Director of Operational Requirements, Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. *May 1996 - December 1997, Director for Force Structure, Resources and Assessment, J-8, the Joint Staff, Washington, D.C. *December 1997 – July 1998, Commander, Alaskan Command, 11th Air Force, and Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region,

Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska Elmendorf Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) facility in Anchorage, Alaska. Originally known as Elmendorf Field, it became Elmendorf Air Force Base after World War II. It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Air Command (AL ...

Flight Information

*Rating: Command pilot *Flight hours: More than 4,100 *Aircraft flown: F-15,

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it ...

, F-117,

A-7 A7, A.7, A 7, A07 or A-7 may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * A7, the A dominant seventh chord used in many rock songs, see dominant seventh chord * A (musical note) * ''A7'' (mixtape), by SCH, 2015 * Avenged Sevenfold, a hard rock/meta ...

F-4 The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bo ...

, F-5,

F-102 The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was an American interceptor aircraft designed and manufactured by Convair. Built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in the late 1950s, it entered service in 1956. Its main purpos ...

, F-106, OA-37,

B-1B The Rockwell B-1 Lancer is a supersonic variable-sweep wing, heavy bomber used by the United States Air Force. It is commonly called the "Bone" (from "B-One"). It is one of three strategic bombers serving in the U.S. Air Force fleet along with ...

KC-135R The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of transport ...

, X29, MiG-17, MiG-21, MiG-23Davies, Steve. Red Eagles: America's Secret MiGs. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011. . Pg. 381 and others

Major awards and decorations

Defense Distinguished Service Medal *

Air Force Distinguished Service Medal * Legion of Merit ribbon

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 with three oak leaf clusters * Air Medal ribbon

Air Medal * Air Force Commendation ribbon

Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters * Joint Meritorious Unit Award-3d

Joint Meritorious Unit Award with oak leaf cluster * Outstanding Unit ribbon

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with two oak leaf clusters

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 ...

March 31, 1969 * First Lieutenant September 30, 1970 *

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 ...

March 30, 1972 *

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 ...

September 1, 1979 *

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 ...

December 1, 1982 * Colonel April 1, 1988 * Brigadier General July 1, 1993 * Major General September 1, 1995 * Lieutenant General September 6, 1996

References

*
Defense Link--Promotion to Lieutenant General
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCloud, David J. 1945 births 1998 deaths Accidental deaths in Alaska Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States United States Air Force generals Recipients of the Legion of Merit Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Harvard Kennedy School alumni Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal People from Sun Valley, Los Angeles Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1998