General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Edwin William Rawlings,

USAF 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 Sign ...

(Ret), (September 11, 1904 – December 8, 1997) was a leading figure in the administrative development of 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 ...

(USAF).

Early life

A Milroy, Minnesota native, Rawlings graduated with an economics degree from

Hamline University Hamline University is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1854, Hamline is known for its emphasis on experiential learning, service, and social justice. The university is named after Bishop Leonidas Lent Hamline o ...

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

. He became a flying

cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

in February 1929. Almost 25 years to the day later, he became one of the USAF's youngest generals, confirmed for a fourth star at 49. He had also by then earned an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Air comptroller pioneer

In November 1946, Symington named Rawlings as air comptroller, helping to organize the office. The position was so successful and struck such a note, the United States adopted the idea of a comptroller for all three services. In 1951, Rawlings became commander of

Air Materiel Command Air Materiel Command (AMC) was a United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In 1961, the command was redesignated the Air Force Logistics Command wi ...

Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene and Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wri ...

, leading USAF's procurement and logistics efforts for seven years. Air Force Chief of Staff

Thomas D. White General Thomas Dresser White (August 6, 1901 – December 22, 1965) was the fourth Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. Life and military career White was born in Walker, Minnesota, on August 6, 1901. His father was John Chanler Whi ...

credited him with spectacular increases in the effectiveness of the Air Force logistics, accomplished through new management methods, concepts, and philosophy, and thus the Air Force has been able to match the tempo of the jet, missile, and space era. Rawlings was a command pilot and combat and aircraft observer, whose decorations included the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

and Distinguished Flying Cross, which he received in 1930 for his role in the rescue of an aircrew downed in the Pacific. He also received the

Soldier's Medal The Soldier's Medal is an individual decoration of the United States Army. It was introduced as Section 11 of the Air Corps Act, passed by the Congress of the United States on July 2, 1926., Appendix 5, p. 126. The Army' Soldier's Medal is equiv ...

in 1954 for rescuing his pilot who was lying underneath a

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

that caught fire after landing at Wright-Patterson.

Later life

After retiring from USAF in 1959, he went on to a career with

General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...

, rising to become president and board chairman. During his second career, General Rawlings introduced

corporate social responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in or supporting volunteering or ethicall ...

and adapted the

Delphi method } The Delphi method or Delphi technique ( ; also known as Estimate-Talk-Estimate or ETE) is a structured communication technique or method, originally developed as a systematic, interactive forecasting method which relies on a panel of experts. The ...

for corporate strategic planning. In 1997, Rawlings died in

Auburn, Washington Auburn is a city in King County, Washington, United States (with a small portion crossing into neighboring Pierce County). The population was 87,256 at the 2020 Census. Auburn is a suburb in the Seattle metropolitan area, and is currently rank ...

at age 93.

Legacy

In 1981 the

Air Force Association The Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit, professional military association for the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, its declared mission is " ...

(AFA) and AEF in 1981 established the Gen.. Edwin W. Rawlings Award initially to recognize

energy conservation Energy conservation is the effort to reduce wasteful energy consumption by using fewer energy services. This can be done by using energy more effectively (using less energy for continuous service) or changing one's behavior to use less service (f ...

achievements within USAF. Now the award recognizes and outstanding technician or manager in

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

matters. The AFA's Gen. E. W. Rawlings Chapter was chartered in Saint Paul in August 1982.

Eugene M. Zuckert Eugene Martin Zuckert (November 9, 1911 – June 5, 2000) was the seventh United States Secretary of the Air Force from January 23, 1961 to September 30, 1965. During his service as secretary, he witnessed the shifting of decision-making powers fro ...

Secretary of the Air Force A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

from 1961 to 1965, credits Rawlings with building a "mature, business-like" image for the newly established Air Force. Zuckert said Air Force Secretary

Stuart Symington William Stuart Symington III (; June 26, 1901 – December 14, 1988) was an American businessman and Democratic politician from Missouri. He served as the first Secretary of the Air Force from 1947 to 1950 and was a United States Senator from M ...

asked him in 1945 why he had to "send out a search party" whenever he needed Army Air Forces statistics, Zuckert remembered a Rawlings memo suggesting the creation of a comptroller position and passed the idea on to Symington. According to Zuckert, the methods developed by Rawlings constituted "a very important step in the development of a postwar Air Force."

References

External links

Air Force Association

''Mentorship Artist'' profile
American Airpower Biography:
A Survey of the Field {{DEFAULTSORT:Rawlings, Edwin W. 1904 births 1997 deaths United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Chairmen of General Mills Hamline University alumni Harvard Business School alumni People from Redwood County, Minnesota Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Soldier's Medal Systems thinking United States Air Force generals United States Army Air Forces officers Military personnel from Minnesota