Michael Edward Ryan
[ (born December 24, 1941) is a retired ]United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, 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 ...
general
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
and was the 16th Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force from October 1997 to September 2001. He served as the senior uniformed Air Force officer responsible for the organization, training and equipage of 700,000 active-duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian forces serving in the United States and overseas. As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...
, he and the other service chiefs functioned as military advisers to the Secretary of Defense, National Security Council and the President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
.
Military career
Born in San Antonio, Texas in 1941, Ryan entered the U.S. Air Force after graduating from the United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and U ...
in 1965; he was a graduate of Omaha Creighton Prep High School. Ryan's father, General John Dale Ryan
General John Dale Ryan (December 10, 1915 – October 27, 1983) was the seventh Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. As chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, General Ryan served in a dual capacity. He was a member of the Joint Chiefs o ...
, was the 7th Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, from 1969 to 1973.
He flew combat missons in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
, including 100 missions over North Vietnam
North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...
in F-4 Phantom II, as part of the 13th Tactical Fighter Squadron based at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base
Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base (Udorn RTAFB) is a Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) base, the home of 23rd Wing Air Command. It is in the city of Udon Thani in northeastern Thailand and is the main airport serving the city and province.
The RTAF 2 ...
in Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
from October 1967 to August 1968. He went through Squadron Officer School in 1969 and the Fighter Weapons Instructor Course at United States Air Force Fighter Weapons School during 1970. From 1971 to 1973, Ryan served as an exchange officer with the Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
flying the Mirage III
The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizonta ...
. He attended Air Command and Staff College
The Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) is located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama and is the United States Air Force's intermediate-level Professional Military Education (PME) school. It is a subordinate command of the Air Univ ...
and 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 Auburn University in 1976. Ryan went to the National War College in 1984. During 1988, Ryan partook in the National Security Program at 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 ...
at 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 high ...
.
Over his career, Ryan held command at the squadron, wing, numbered air force and major command levels. He also served in staff assignments at the major command level, and in the Pentagon on both the Air Staff and the Joint Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...
.
His first assignment as a lieutenant general in 1993 was as the ''Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff'', the duties of which encompassed being the senior military liaison over at the U.S. Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...
and travelling overseas with the Secretary of State.
As Commander of Sixteenth Air Force
The Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) (16 AF) is a United States Air Force (USAF) organization responsible for information warfare, which encompasses intelligence gathering and analysis, surveillance, reconnaissance, cyber warfare and ele ...
at Aviano Air Base and Allied Air Forces Southern Europe
Allied Air Forces Southern Europe (AIRSOUTH) was a military aviation component command of the NATO Military Command Structure from 1951 to 2004.
History
Allied Air Forces Southern Europe (AIRSOUTH) was established in temporary facilities in Flor ...
in Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, from 1994 to 1996, Lieutenant General Ryan directed the NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
air combat operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, including the bombing missions of Operation Deliberate Force
Operation Deliberate Force was a sustained air campaign conducted by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in concert with the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) ground operations, to undermine the military capability of the ...
, which created the context for the U.S. to broker the Dayton Peace Accords
The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement or the Dayton Accords ( Croatian: ''Daytonski sporazum'', Serbian and Bosnian: ''Dejtonski mirovni sporazum'' / Дејтонски миро ...
between the parties in conflict. Ryan personally approved every NATO target during the two-week Operation Deliberate Force campaign. During his tenure, Captain Scott O'Grady
Scott Francis O'Grady (born October 12, 1965) is a former United States Air Force fighter pilot. On June 2, 1995, he was shot down over Bosnia and Herzegovina by a 2K12 Kub mobile SAM launcher and forced to eject from his F-16C into hostile ter ...
was shot down in a F-16 Fighting Falcon in early June 1995 over Bosnia by a surface-to-air missile launched by the Army of Republika Srpska
The Army of Republika Srpska ( sr, Војска Републике Српске/Vojska Republike Srpske; ВРС/VRS), commonly referred to in English as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of Republika Srpska (RS), the self-proclaimed Serb ...
. O'Grady was rescued a week later.
Before assuming the Chief of Staff position, General Ryan was from April 1996 to October 1997 dual-hatted as Commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Commander of Allied Air Forces Central Europe
Allied Air Forces Central Europe (AAFCE) was the NATO command tasked with air and air defense operations in NATOs Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT) area of command.
History
Allied Air Forces Central Europe was activated on 2 April 1951 at Fon ...
, with headquarters at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
announced the nomination of General Ryan as Chief of Staff of the Air Force on July 31, 1997.
During Operation Allied Force
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...
in April 1999, General Ryan made taskings to improve the capability of the Predator drone to collect time-sensitive intelligence for targeting, the results of which would later prove useful in Operation Enduring Freedom. General Ryan formally retired from the U.S. Air Force on October 1, 2001: although the first day on the job of his successor, General John P. Jumper, was on September 11, 2001
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...
.
Awards and decorations
Effective dates of promotion
Popular culture
General Michael E. Ryan appeared as himself in the ''Stargate SG-1
''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, ...
'' 4th season episode 19 "Prodigy
Prodigy, Prodigies or The Prodigy may refer to:
* Child prodigy, a child who produces meaningful output to the level of an adult expert performer
** Chess prodigy, a child who can beat experienced adult players at chess
Arts, entertainment, and ...
", a cable television series filmed in Canada receiving technical assistance from the Air Force Entertainment Liaison Office. He agreed to guest-star on ''Stargate SG-1'' because as he put it, "The ideas that come out of science fiction are often more science than fiction." It also appealed to Ryan's sense of wonder, "The exploration of our own solar system is this century's challenge. It would be a big surprise to find a Stargate out there." Lead actor Richard Dean Anderson
Richard Dean Anderson (born January 23, 1950) is a retired American actor and producer. He began his television career in 1976, playing Jeff Webber in the American soap opera series '' General Hospital'', and then rose to prominence as the lead ...
later recalled asking General Ryan off camera if he had subordinates as irreverent as Anderson's character Jack O'Neill. According to Anderson the reply was, "Son, yes. We've got colonels like you and worse."
References
External links
Official USAF Biography
Appearances
on C-SPAN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Michael E.
1941 births
Living people
United States Air Force Academy alumni
Squadron Officer School alumni
Air Command and Staff College alumni
Auburn University alumni
National War College alumni
Harvard Kennedy School alumni
Chiefs of Staff of the United States Air Force
Recipients of the Legion of Merit
Order of National Security Merit members
Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun
Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Crosses of Aeronautical Merit
Recipients of the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera)
Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur
Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal
Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)
Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau
Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure
Recipients of the Order of the Sword (United States)