Fogleman's contributions to the Air Force recognized

Published Oct. 9, 2014
By Staff Sgt. Stephenie Wade
375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- He served as a fighter pilot, training instructor, professor, Air Mobility Command and U.S. Transportation Command Commander, and the Air Force Chief of Staff before retiring after a 34 -year career in 1997.

During his Air Force tenure, Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman's advancement of air mobility enabled the development of today's unrivaled United States mobility forces. Among other accomplishments, such as flying 315 combat missions and creating the first world-wide Air Chiefs conference, he also was the driving force behind developing the current Air Force Core Values and developing what's known as "The Little Blue Book." "Integrity First," "Service Before Self," and "Excellence In All We Do" were the core values that he lived by, and what he expected of all Airmen.

For these and many other reasons, Fogleman was inducted into the Airlift/Tanker Association Hall of Fame last year and will be here for the unveiling of his statue in the Mobility Memorial Park today at 11 a.m. The rain location will be the Global Reach Planning Center.

Scott Air Force Base accomplishments

During his tenure as USCINCTRANS, the command became DoD's single manager for medical regulating with the publication of DoD Directive 5154.6. This directive made USCINCTRANS the single manager for the implementation of policy and standardization of procedures and information support systems for intertheater medical regulating. The role stemmed from experiences during Desert Storm which revealed separate processes of patient regulating and transportation coordination that created dysfunction and lacked responsiveness in war. Based on this role, the command subsequently created the Global Patient Movement Requirements Center in June 1994.

He also pioneered the initiative of Joint Service Reserve training within USTRANSCOM that ultimately qualified many Joint Transportation Reserve Unit members for full participation in USTRANSCOM command center activities.
Fogleman directed a bottom-up review of the airlift channel process. This initiative improved efficiency and cost savings by reducing C-141 flying hours, thereby extending the aircraft's life until a new core aircraft became fully operational. Fogleman's vision and understanding of the significance of In-Transit Visibility in movement of cargo and passengers resulted in his declaration of 1994 as the "Year of In-Transit Visibility."

Air Force career

Fogleman joined the Air Force in 1963 after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He then attended pilot training at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma and stayed on for three more years as a flight training instructor and examiner. After a six-month stint in combat crew training in F-100s at Luke AFB, Arizona, he joined the 510th Tactical Fighter Squadron as a fighter pilot stationed at Bien Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam.

Then on Sept. 12, 1968, Fogleman was shot down by multiple hits from small arms fire. He ejected over hostile territory and hid on the ground from the enemy that was as close as 20 yards. He was picked up by a Cobra helicopter and rode on the outside until reaching the safety of a Special Forces camp. The next day he went out again on one of the 240 combat missions he flew while stationed in Vietnam.

He returned stateside in 1969 to attend Duke University, where he earned a Master of Arts degree in military and political science in 1970. He taught at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, as an associate professor of history. He then was stationed in Thailand, where he served as an F-4 pilot, instructor pilot and commander of the Laredo forward air controller flight. In 1974, he was reassigned to the Air Reserve Personnel Center in Colorado as chief of rated assignments.

After completing Army War College in 1976, Fogleman, now a lieutenant colonel, was assigned to the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing at Bitburg Air Base, West Germany, as assistant deputy commander for operations. During that stint, his unit became the first operational F-15 aircraft wing stationed outside the continental United States. In February 1978, he took on the duties of deputy commander for operations for the 32nd Tactical Fighter Squadron at Camp New Amsterdam, Holland.

Fogleman was promoted to brigadier general in October 1985, and five months later he went to the Pentagon as deputy director of programs and evaluation. Two years later he became director of that same organization, as well as chairman of the Air Staff Board at the Pentagon. As a lieutenant general in 1990, he held command positions at Osan Air Base, Korea. In 1992, he became the dual-hatted Commander of U.S. Transportation Command and Air Mobility Command where he was promoted to four-star status. Finally, he returned to the Pentagon in October 1994 as Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force.

In that position, the general worked to revamp the evaluation programs for both officer and enlisted members, and as he said in an interview at the time of his retirement "worked to restore the soul of the Air Force." He focused on the issue of accountability and standards, thus identifying the core values and developing the United States Air Force Core Values Pamphlet, known to many as "The Little Blue Book."

He also created the CSAF Professional Reading Program in 1996 to develop a common frame of reference among Air Force members -- officers, enlisted and civilians -- to help them become better, more effective advocates of air and space power. Each CSAF since then has enhanced and continued the Professional Reading Program. In addition, he tackled numerous defense and strategy issues, especially focusing on pilot retention, ops tempos and how the Air Force would be shaped for the next 10 to 15 years. (Some information courtesy of the Airlift/Tanker Association)