Michael E. Ryan November 6, 1997 - September 6, 2001 Gen. Michael E. Ryan graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1967. In his early assignments, he served stateside and in Southeast Asia as an FB4 pilot and aircraft commander and as an exchange officer for the Royal Australian Air Force. While commanding the 61st Tactical Fighter Squadron, he oversaw the unit=s transition from FB4s to FB16s. He later served as chief of Checkmate, the strategic planning group formed to counter Soviet threats. In 1984, as a fighter wing commander in Japan, he reestablished fighter operations in that
Michael E. Ryan November 6, 1997 - September 6, 2001 Gen. Michael E. Ryan graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1967. In his early assignments, he served stateside and in Southeast Asia as an FB4 pilot and aircraft commander and as an exchange officer for the Royal Australian Air Force. While commanding the 61st Tactical Fighter Squadron, he oversaw the unit=s transition from FB4s to FB16s. He later served as chief of Checkmate, the strategic planning group formed to counter Soviet threats. In 1984, as a fighter wing commander in Japan, he reestablished fighter operations in that country after a twelve-year absence. A decade later, after serving as assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he became the Commander of Sixteenth Air Force and Allied Air Forces Southern Europe and directed NATO air combat operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. These operations directly contributed to the Dayton Peace Accords. In April 1996, he received his fourth star and became the Commander of Air Forces in Europe and of Allied Air Forces Central Europe. Rated as a command pilot, he logged more than 4,130 flight hours in a variety of aircraft, including 153 combat missions, of which 100 were flown over North Vietnam. His education included a master=s degree in business administration, Air Command and Staff College, National War College, and the National Security Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Before becoming the sixteenth Air Force Chief of Staff, he had commanded at the squadron, wing, numbered air force, and major command levels. As Chief of Staff, he confronted a variety of challenges, including reductions in force structure, personnel, and foreign basing; numerous overseas deployments; and a decline in major weapon systems. Concerned that the high operation tempo would damage the long-term sustainability of the service, he implemented the aerospace Air Expeditionary Force as a means to accomplish the global miss
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