Michael E. Ryan
Official portrait as Chief of Staff of the Air Force
Born (1941-12-24) December 24, 1941
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Air Force
Years of service1965–2001
RankGeneral
Commands heldChief of Staff of the United States Air Force
Allied Air Forces Central Europe
U.S. Air Forces in Europe
16th Air Force
Allied Air Forces Southern Europe
432nd Tactical Fighter Wing
61st Tactical Fighter Squadron
Battles/warsVietnam War
Operation Deliberate Force
AwardsDefense Distinguished Service Medal (3)
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal (2)
Army Distinguished Service Medal
Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal
Legion of Merit (3)
Distinguished Flying Cross
Full list
RelationsGeneral John Dale Ryan (father)

Michael Edward Ryan[1] (born December 24, 1941) is a retired United States Air Force general 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, he and the other service chiefs functioned as military advisers to the Secretary of Defense, National Security Council and the President.

Military career

Captain Michael E. Ryan receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross from his father, General John D. Ryan in 1969.

Born in San Antonio, Texas in 1941,[2] Ryan entered the U.S. Air Force after graduating from the United States Air Force Academy in 1965;[1] he was a graduate of Omaha Creighton Prep High School. Ryan's father, General John Dale Ryan, was the 7th Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, from 1969 to 1973.[2]

He flew combat missions in Southeast Asia, including 100 missions over North Vietnam in F-4 Phantom II, as part of the 13th Tactical Fighter Squadron based at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand 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 flying the Mirage III. He attended Air Command and Staff College and earned an MBA 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 at Harvard University.[2]

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.[2]

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 and travelling overseas with the Secretary of State.[3]

As Commander of Sixteenth Air Force at Aviano Air Base and Allied Air Forces Southern Europe in Naples, from 1994 to 1996, Lieutenant General Ryan directed the NATO air combat operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, including the bombing missions of Operation Deliberate Force, which created the context for the U.S. to broker the Dayton Peace Accords between the parties in conflict. Ryan personally approved every NATO target during the two-week Operation Deliberate Force campaign.[4] During his tenure, Captain Scott O'Grady 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. 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, with headquarters at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. President Bill Clinton announced the nomination of General Ryan as Chief of Staff of the Air Force on July 31, 1997.[5]

During Operation Allied Force 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.[6] 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.[7]

Awards and decorations

Air Force Chief of Staff General Michael E. Ryan flies an F-16 Fighting Falcon.
General Michael E. Ryan during his tenure as Air Force Chief of Staff.
Air Force Chief of Staff General Michael E. Ryan with Secretary of the Air Force F. Whitten Peters at The Pentagon in 2001.
Other accoutrements
Command Air Force Pilot Badge
Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge
Personal decorations
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Defense Distinguished Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster
Width-44 white ribbon with width-10 scarlet stripes at edges, separated from the white by width-2 ultramarine blue stripes. Army Distinguished Service Medal
Navy blue ribbon with central gold stripe Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Width-44 crimson ribbon with a pair of width-2 white stripes on the edges
Legion of Merit with two bronze oak leaf clusters
Distinguished Flying Cross
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Width-44 crimson ribbon with two width-8 white stripes at distance 4 from the edges.
Meritorious Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters
Silver oak leaf cluster
Silver oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Medal with two silver and one bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters
Unit awards
Presidential Unit Citation
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
V
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor device and bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with two oak leaf clusters
Service awards
Combat Readiness Medal
Campaign and service medals
Bronze star
Bronze star
Width=44 scarlet ribbon with a central width-4 golden yellow stripe, flanked by pairs of width-1 scarlet, white, Old Glory blue, and white stripes
National Defense Service Medal with two bronze service stars
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Vietnam Service Medal with three bronze service stars
Armed Forces Service Medal
Service, training, and marksmanship awards
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Overseas Short Tour Service Ribbon with bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Overseas Long Tour Service Ribbon with two bronze oak leaf clusters
Silver oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Longevity Service Award with silver and three bronze oak leaf clusters
Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon
Air Force Training Ribbon
Foreign awards
Chilean Grand Cross of the Order of Aeronautical Merit
South Korean Order of National Security Merit, Tong-il Medal
Japanese Order of the Rising Sun, 1st Class
Japanese Order of the Sacred Treasure
The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand, 1st Class
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Knight Commander's Cross
Spanish Grand Cross of the Order of Aeronautical Merit
Singaporean Meritorious Service Medal (Military)
Brazilian Order of Aeronautical Merit, Grand Officer
French Legion of Honour, Commandeur Medal
Netherlands Order of Orange-Nassau w/ swords, Commander
Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Award
NATO Medal for Former Yugoslavia
SICOFAA Legion of Merit Officer Medal
Vietnam Campaign Medal

Effective dates of promotion

General Michael E. Ryan with Brigadier General Robert Latiff (commander of Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center) and General Richard B. Myers (CINCNORAD/USCINCSPACE/COMAFSPC) standing outside the North portal at Cheyenne Mountain Complex on September 1, 1999.
InsigniaRankDate
GeneralApr. 4, 1996
Lieutenant generalMay 10, 1993
Major generalJan. 1, 1991
Brigadier generalMay 1, 1988
ColonelJuly 1, 1981
Lieutenant colonelApr. 1, 1979
MajorJune 1, 1976
CaptainJune 13, 1968
First lieutenantDec. 9, 1966
Second lieutenantJune 9, 1965

[8]

General Michael E. Ryan appeared as himself in the Stargate SG-1 4th season episode 19 "Prodigy", a cable television series filmed in Canada receiving technical assistance from the Air Force Entertainment Liaison Office.[9] 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."[10] 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."[10] Lead actor Richard Dean Anderson 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."[11]

References

  1. 1 2 Polaris (PDF). Vol. 7. U.S. Air Force Academy. 1965. p. 148. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Nominations Before the Senate Armed Services Committee, First Session, 105th Congress: Hearings Before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, One Hundred Fifth Congress, First Session, on Nominations of William S. Cohen; Federico F. Peǹa; Keith R. Hall; Gen. Wesley K. Clark, USA; Lt. Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, USMC; Rudy F. De Leon; John J. Hamre; Gen. Henry H. Shelton, USA; Gen. Michael e. Ryan, USAF; Adm. Harold W. Gehman, Jr., USN; Lt. Gen. Charles e. Wilhelm, USMC; Dr. Jacques S. Gansler; Lt. Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, USA; Lt. Gen. John A. Gordon, USAF; Robert M. Walker; Jerry MacArthur Hultin; F. Whitten Peters; William J. Lynn III, January 22; February 5; March 6; July 9, 17, 24; September 9, 16; October 1, 23, 30; November 8, 1997. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1998. ISBN 9780160562556.
  3. "Opening Remarks and Introduction: Civil-Military Affairs and U.S. Diplomacy". 2001-2009.state.gov. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  4. "April". www.afa.org. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  5. "William J. Clinton, Statement on the Nomination of General Michael E. Ryan To Be Air Force Chief of Staff". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  6. Grissom, Adam R.; Lee, Caitlin; Mueller, Karl P. (2016). Innovation in the United States Air Force: Evidence from Six Cases (PDF). RAND Corporation. p. 74-80. ISBN 978-0-8330-9184-0.
  7. "A general's story and reflections on 9/11". www.leidos.com. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  8. "GENERAL MICHAEL E. RYAN". The official website of the U.S. Air Force. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  9. "Portfolio: Stargate SG-1". www.airforcehollywood.af.mil. Archived from the original on 8 November 2005. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  10. 1 2 "Air Force chief of staff will appear on sci-fi series". www.af.mil. Archived from the original on 4 March 2001. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  11. Richard Dean Anderson (actor) (4 October 2005). "SG-1 Beyond the Gate: An Air Force Experience with Richard Dean Anderson". Stargate SG-1 (season 8) (DVD). Metro Goldwyn Mayer.
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