Larry D. Welch July 1, 1986 - June 30, 1990 Former National Guardsman and Air Force enlisted member Larry D. Welch became the service=s twelfth Chief of Staff. During his tenure, he witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall and the beginning of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He strongly advocated the development and deployment of Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as the BB1 and the advanced technology bomber, later the BB2. As the Soviet Union instituted policies of glasnost and perestroika, he argued for continued support of Air Force strategic forces, believing that
Larry D. Welch July 1, 1986 - June 30, 1990 Former National Guardsman and Air Force enlisted member Larry D. Welch became the service=s twelfth Chief of Staff. During his tenure, he witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall and the beginning of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He strongly advocated the development and deployment of Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as the BB1 and the advanced technology bomber, later the BB2. As the Soviet Union instituted policies of glasnost and perestroika, he argued for continued support of Air Force strategic forces, believing that American strength provided the catalyst behind those changes. He also directed the Air Force=s continued emphasis on joint initiatives with the other services, a policy particularly attractive as budgets declined with the end of the Cold War. During his almost four decades in uniform, the Oklahoma native served in a wide variety of posts. After graduating from pilot training in 1955, he began a three-year run as a flight instructor, followed by four years at Headquarters Air Training Command as a Standardization and Evaluation team member. He served with tactical fighter units in France and New Mexico before transferring in March 1966 to Phan Rang and Da Nang Air Bases, Republic of Vietnam, flying FB4C combat sorties over North and South Vietnam and Laos. Between stints as a student at the Armed Forces Staff College and National War College, Welch directed air superiority studies, fighter division, for the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Studies and Analysis. In July 1972, he became Director of Operations and Vice Commander for the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing at George Air Force Base, California. He followed that assignment with a variety of posts with the Tactical Air Command, including Commander of the 1st Tactical Fighter Wing. He went on to command Ninth Air Force and served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Programs and Resources, and later, Vice Chief of Staff, at H
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