Major General John Hadley Little (born 16 October 1941) served as the 12th Superintendent of the Wentworth Military Academy in

Lexington, Missouri Lexington is a city in and the county seat of Lafayette County, Missouri. The population was 4,726 at the 2010 census. Located in western Missouri, Lexington lies approximately east of Kansas City and is part of the Greater Kansas City Metropol ...

from 2002 to 2007. Born in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

and raised in the Lexington area, Little attended Wentworth from 1957 to 1961, graduating from both the high school and the junior college. He was designated as a Distinguished Military Graduate and was commissioned as a

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 ...

in the Regular Army at Wentworth in May 1963 following his graduation from

University of Central Missouri The University of Central Missouri (UCM) is a public university in Warrensburg, Missouri. In 2019, enrollment was 11,229 students from 49 states and 59 countries on its 1,561-acre campus. UCM offers 150 programs of study, including 10 pre-profes ...

. During his military career spanning 32 years, Little served in a succession of executive level positions. He served two tours in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, had multiple assignments in the research and development field, had a battalion command with the

2d Armored Division The 2nd Armored Division ("Hell on Wheels") was an armored division of the United States Army. The division played important roles during World War II in the invasions of Germany, North Africa, and Sicily and in the liberation of France, Belgium ...

, and a Brigade command at

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of William Wallace Smith Bliss, LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President ...

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

. After being promoted to

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 ...

, he served as Commanding General of the U.S. Army Air and Missile Defense Center at

. That command included over 12,000 soldiers and 7,000 civilian employees. General Little’s Army career culminated in his appointment as the Army’s first Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management on the Army Staff at

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

. In this position, he was responsible for the management and operation of the Army’s over 400 forts, posts, camps and stations around the world. He also attended the Air War College, Army Command and General Staff College, and he earned an MBA in Operations Research/Systems Analysis from

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

. Among his awards and decorations are two

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 ...

s, four awards of the

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 ...

, three

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

s and three Meritorious Service Medals. Upon his retirement from the U.S. Army in 1995, he served as Vice President and Program Manager with

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

Corporation in

Sunnyvale, California Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwest Santa Clara County in the U.S. state of California. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the nort ...

, where he managed the development of a three billion dollar theater missile defense system. Little was named as the twelfth superintendent of Wentworth Military Academy in 2002. He retired in May 2007.

References

* The Story of Wentworth, by Raymond W. Settle, 1950, Spencer Printing Co., Kansas City. * History of Wentworth Military Academy, by James M. Sellers, Jr., 1984. * Wentworth Trumpeter, 2002-2007. * Wentworth Military Academy, 125th Anniversary. Lil Touch Publishing. 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Little, John H. 1941 births Living people People from Lexington, Missouri Wentworth Military Academy and College alumni University of Central Missouri alumni United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Freeman School of Business alumni Air War College alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) American manufacturing businesspeople Presidents of Wentworth Military Academy and College