Ronald Robert Fogleman (born January 27, 1942) is a retired

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 ...

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 ...

who served as the 15th Chief of Staff of the Air Force from 1994 to 1997 and as Commanding General of the

United States Transportation Command The United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) is one of eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense. The command is located at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, and was established in 1987. The USTRANSCO ...

from 1992 to 1994.

Air Force career

A 1963 graduate 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 Uni ...

, he holds a master's degree in military history and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

. A

command pilot U.S. Air Force aeronautical ratings are military aviation skill standards established and awarded by the United States Air Force for commissioned officers participating in "regular and frequent flight",The standard by which flight status has bee ...

and a

parachutist Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...

, he amassed more than 6,800 flying hours in fighter, transport, tanker and rotary wing aircraft. He flew 315 combat missions and logged 806 hours of combat flying in fighter aircraft. Eighty of his missions during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

were as a "

Misty FAC Misty may refer to: Music * ''Misty'' (Ray Stevens album), an album by Ray Stevens featuring the above song * ''Misty'' (Richard "Groove" Holmes album), an album by Richard "Groove" Holmes featuring the above song * ''Misty'' (Eddie "Lockjaw" ...

" in the

F-100F Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet engine, jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century S ...

Phù Cát Air Base Phù Cát Air Base ( vi, Căn cứ không quân Phù Cát ) (1966–1975) was a United States Air Force (USAF) and Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility used during the Vietnam War (1959–1975). It is located north of the city of Qui Nh ...

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

between 25 December 1968 and 23 April 1969. Fogleman was shot down in Vietnam in 1968, while piloting an F-100. He was rescued by clinging to an

AH-1 Cobra The Bell AH-1 Cobra is a single-engined attack helicopter developed and manufactured by the American rotorcraft manufacturer Bell Helicopter. A member of the prolific Huey family, the AH-1 is also referred to as the HueyCobra or Snake. The A ...

attack helicopter that landed at the crash site. In early assignments he instructed student pilots, performed combat duty as a fighter pilot and high-speed forward air controller in Vietnam and Thailand, taught history at the Air Force Academy and conducted flight operations in Europe—including duty as an

F-15 Eagle The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas's ...

aircraft demonstration pilot for international airshows. He commanded a USAF

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

, an

air division An air division is an air force or naval air formation that is roughly equivalent to an army division. An air division is usually commanded by a major general and it is composed of multiple wings, groups, air brigades, or equivalently-sized air forc ...

, a

numbered air force A Numbered Air Force (NAF) is a type of organization in the United States Air Force that is subordinate to a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, major command (MAJCOM) and has assigned to it operational units such as wings, squ ...

, a

major command Major Command or Major Commands are large formations of the United States Armed Forces. Historically, a Major Command is the highest level of command. Within the United States Army, the acronym MACOM is used for Major Command. Within the United Stat ...

and a

unified combatant command A unified combatant command (CCMD), also referred to as a combatant command, is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces, an ...

. Fogleman was the first graduate of the United States Air Force Academy to advance to Chief of Staff of the Air Force. During his tenure, he introduced a simplified code of conduct for airmen, which remains in use today. Called the "Air Force Core Values", the code demands "Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do." General Ronald R

During the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

, Fogleman was - in his position as Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force - involved in the planning of a rescue operation of

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 ...

, an US-American pilot who got shot down by Serbian forces in June 1995. Fogleman's decision to share news of the signals that O'Grady had allegedly sent before the rescue operation was complete, led to criticism at the time. Despite Fogleman releasing this "extremely sensitive piece of information", O'Grady was rescued. In 1996 Fogleman created the Chief of Staff of the US Air Force (CSAF) Professional Reading Program in order to "develop a common frame of reference among Air Force members -- officers, enlisted, and civilians -- to help each of us become better, more effective advocates of air and space power." The list has been enhanced by subsequent CSAF's and includes books by

Rolf Dobelli Rolf is a male given name and a surname. It originates in the Germanic name ''Hrolf'', itself a contraction of ''Hrodwulf'' ( Rudolf), a conjunction of the stem words ''hrod'' ("renown") + ''wulf'' ("wolf"). The Old Norse cognate is ''Hrólfr''. ...

Simon Sinek Simon Oliver Sinek (born October 9, 1973) is a British born American author and inspirational speaker. He is the author of five books, including '' Start With Why'' (2009) and ''The Infinite Game'' (2019). Early life and education Sinek was b ...

, and Victor Davis Hansen. Fogleman said in a December 1997 interview—published by Aerospace Power Journal in the spring of 2001—that his retirement was to allow the Secretary of Defense to make a decision on the future of Brigadier General Terryl J. Schwalier, the senior officer in

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...

at the time of the

Khobar Towers bombing The Khobar Towers bombing was a terrorist attack on part of a housing complex in the city of Khobar, Saudi Arabia, near the national oil company ( Saudi Aramco) headquarters of Dhahran and nearby King Abdulaziz Air Base on 25 June 1996. At that tim ...

, on the merits and facts of the case rather than in response to a perceived protest by a service chief. He did not resign in protest over policy; this would have encroached on civilian control of the military.

Post-Air Force career

After his retirement, Fogleman was named to the

Boards of Directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

Alliant Techsystems Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) was an American aerospace, defense, and sporting goods company with its headquarters in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. The company operated in 22 states, Puerto Rico, and other countries. ATK's ...

AAR Corporation AAR CORP. is a private provider of aviation services. AAR is headquartered in Wood Dale, Illinois, a Chicago suburb near O'Hare International Airport. The company employs 4,700 people worldwide. History AAR Corp was founded in 1951. I.A. Alle ...

Mesa Air Group Mesa Air Group, Inc. is a Nevada Corporation commercial aviation holding company with headquarters in Suite 700 at 410 North 44th Street in the Camelback East area of Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The company operates one re ...

, Inc.,

Tactical Air Support, Inc. Tactical Air Support, Inc. (Tactical Air) is an American List of defense contractors, defense contractor headquartered in Reno, Nevada at Reno Stead Airport, Reno-Stead Airport. Almost all of its employees are former fighter weapons school and oper ...

, World Air Holdings, Inc., and the Tauriga Sciences Inc.'s Business Advisory Board and to the board of advisors of the

Code of Support Foundation The Code of Support Foundation (COSF) is a U.S. nonprofit organization that provides assistance to military service members, veterans and their families, many of whom face multiple and complex challenges. Based in Alexandria, Virginia, the group ...

, a nonprofit military services organization. Air Force Chief of Staff General Ronald Fogleman at the dedication of the Medal of Honor Monument

Air Force Chief of Staff General Ronald R

On November 11, 2009, Fogleman was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors at Alliant Techsystems Inc., following the retirement of ATK Chairman and CEO Dan Murphy. As a

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

consultant, Fogleman said that the

Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide ele ...

will not be a combat proven aircraft until it receives the Block 3F software in the early 2020s.

Awards and decorations

In 2013 he was inducted into the Airlift/Tanker Hall of Fame.

References

Official USAF Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fogleman, Ronald 1942 births Living people United States Air Force Academy alumni Chiefs of Staff of the United States Air Force United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War Alliant Techsystems Duke University alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal Order of National Security Merit members Recipients of the Gallantry Cross (Vietnam) Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun Order of the Polar Star Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Order of the Sword (United States) Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Shot-down aviators