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 of Staff, which, as a body, acts as the principal military advisers to the president, the National Security Council, and the Secretary of Defense. In his other capacity, he was responsible to the Secretary of the Air Force for managing the vast human and materiel resources of the world's most powerful aerospace force.

In May 1972, Ryan was the subject of one of President Richard Nixon's more severe rants.

Early life

John Dale Ryan was born in Cherokee, Iowa, on December 10, 1915. Following graduation from Cherokee Junior College in 1934, he entered the United States Military Academy, played varsity football, and graduated in 1938. He next attended pilot training in Texas at Randolph and Kelly fields, and received his pilot wings in 1939.

Military career

left|thumb|219x219px|Air Force Chief of Staff General John D. Ryan with U.S. Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird.

Ryan remained at Kelly Field as a flight instructor for approximately two years. From January 1942 until August 1943, he was director of training at Midland Army Airfield, Texas, and was instrumental in establishing an advanced bombardier training school. His next assignment was as operations officer for the Second Air Force at Colorado Springs, Colorado. In February 1944, he was transferred to Italy, where he commanded the 2d Bombardment Group and later became operations officer for the 5th Bombardment Wing, Fifteenth Air Force. While commanding the 2d Bombardment Group he lost a finger to enemy anti-aircraft fire. Later on, this resulted in his nickname, sometimes used derisively, "Three-fingered Jack."

Ryan returned to Texas in April 1945, and became deputy air base commander at Midland Army Airfield. In September, he was assigned to the Air Training Command at Fort Worth and Randolph Field, where he remained until April 1946, when he assumed duties with the 58th Bombardment Wing and participated in the Bikini Atoll atomic weapons tests.

From September 1946 to July 1948, he was assistant chief of staff for pilots of the 58th Bombardment Wing and then Eighth Air Force director of operations. For the next three years, he commanded the 509th Bombardment Group at Walker Air Force Base, New Mexico. Between July 1951 and June 1956, Ryan commanded the 97th Bombardment Wing and the 810th Air Division, both at Biggs Air Force Base, Texas, and the 19th Air Division at Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.

Ryan became director of materiel for the Strategic Air Command in June 1956, and four years later assumed command of SAC's Sixteenth Air Force in Spain. In July 1961, he was named commander of the Second Air Force at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. In August 1963, Ryan was assigned to the Pentagon as Inspector General of the Air Force. A year later, he was named vice commander in chief of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.

Strategic Air Command

left|thumb|210x210px|General John D. Ryan during his tenured as [[List of commanders-in-chief of the Strategic Air Command|Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Air Command.]]

In November 1964 Ryan was appointed as the next Commander-in-Chief of The Strategic Air Command (CINCSAC) following the retirement of the current CINCSAC General Thomas S. Power. Ryan assumed his duties as CINCSAC On December 1, 1964, and became its fourth commander in chief and was the first CINCSAC to be educated at West Point. As part of the Strategic Air Command involvement in the Vietnam War, Ryan under the direction of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered the deployment of several Strategic Air Command fleet of B-52 Stratofortress and Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker into Southeast Asia. During his tenure as Air Force Chief of Staff, Ryan also realized that the Air Force was in need of a complete overhaul that emphasized training, readiness and understanding.

According to Mark Perry 1989 military history book Four Stars: The Inside Story of The Forty-Year Battle Between The Joint Chiefs of Staff and America's Civilian Leaders, Ryan was considered one of the Air Force's major air power strategists in the end of 1960s and was one of the able successors to Curtis LeMay and Thomas D. White. Ryan was also quoted as one of the military's leading critics of the can-do spirit which permeated the New Frontier-Great Society national Leadership. He was later buried with full military honors at the United States Air Force Academy Cemetery in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was survived by his wife, the former Jo Carolyn Guidera, his son, Colonel (later General) Michael E. Ryan, and a daughter, Patricia Jo Ryan. Another son, Captain John D. Ryan, Jr., was killed in 1970<!-- 12 Jan--> when his F-4 Phantom II crashed into San Pablo Bay during a training mission, shortly after takeoff from Hamilton AFB in Marin County, California.

Awards and decorations

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|*100px US Air Force Command Pilot Badge

  • 30px Master Missileman Badge (basic Missileman Badge depicted)
  • 100px Philippine Air Force Gold Wings Badge

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{| class="wikitable"

|- style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;"

| colspan=2 |Personal decorations

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|<span style="position:relative; top:0; left:-43px; display:inline-block; width:0;">14px</span><span style="position:relative; top:0; left:-31px; display:inline-block; width:0;">14px</span><span style="position:relative; top:0; left:-19px; display:inline-block; width:0;">14px</span><span style="position:relative; top:0; left:-55px; display:inline-block; width:0;">14px</span>

|Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with four bronze oak leaf clusters

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|Army Distinguished Service Medal He received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, on May 30, 1966; and an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Akron, Ohio, on June 5, 1967.

In July 1971, Ryan became the first foreign dignitary to receive the Golden Wings of the Philippine Air Force. Additional foreign decorations are Chilean Military Star of the Armed Forces, Class of Great Star for Military Merit.

References

  • Public domain biography provided by the U.S. Air Force
  • "Retiring AF Chief's 'Junket' Raises Flap," The Pittsburgh Press, July 13, 1973, p.&nbsp;7

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Brazilian Order of Aeronautical Merit, Degree of Grand Official. -->

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, Class of Great Star for Military Merit; -->