30 Facts About Merrill McPeak

Merrill Anthony McPeak was born on January 9,1936 and is a retired 4-star general in the United States Air Force whose final assignment before retirement was as the 14th Chief of Staff of the Air Force from 1990 to 1994.

In 1993, McPeak served as Acting Secretary of the Air Force, before Sheila E Widnall was appointed by President Bill Clinton, and is the only Chief of Staff of the Air Force and uniformed Air Force officer on active duty to have ever served as Acting Secretary.

Merrill McPeak later earned a Master of Arts degree in international relations from George Washington University in 1974.

Merrill McPeak later returned to the United States as an instructor pilot and weapons officer at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona.

From December 1966 to December 1968, Merrill McPeak was assigned as an opposing solo and then lead solo pilot with the Thunderbirds, the Air Force's aerobatic flying team.

Merrill McPeak became the tenth commander of Commando Sabre on April 22,1969, and moved it to the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing at Tuy Hoa Air Base on May 1, when the 37th TFW transitioned to the twin-seat F-4 Phantom II.

Merrill McPeak completed a total of 269 combat missions while in Vietnam, was awarded the Silver Star, and remained in-country until 1970, after which he attended the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia.

From 1970 to 1973, Merrill McPeak was an air operations staff officer for the Mideast Division at Headquarters USAF in Washington, DC After graduating from the National War College in 1974, he was named assistant deputy commander for operations for the 1st Tactical Fighter Wing at MacDill AFB, Florida flying the F-4 Phantom II.

In 1976, Merrill McPeak contributed an article to Foreign Affairs Journal expressing his views on the Israeli occupation of territories during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

Merrill McPeak was chief of staff at USAFE headquarters from 1981 to 1982, and deputy chief of staff for plans at Tactical Air Command headquarters, Langley AFB, Virginia from 1982 to 1985.

In June 1987, Merrill McPeak moved to Bergstrom AFB, Texas in the dual roles of Commander, 12th Air Force and Commander of Air Forces for United States Southern Command.

Merrill McPeak took over as chief of staff during Operation Desert Shield, and assisted in overall strategic planning for Operation Desert Storm.

Merrill McPeak's tenure oversaw the merging of Air Training Command and Air University into the Air Education and Training Command.

Merrill McPeak pushed through major organizational changes in the Air Force aimed at streamlining and emphasizing operations and combat readiness.

Merrill McPeak created the Air Force Expeditionary Wing concept, a fusion of combat forces and support into a single organization.

Merrill McPeak transferred several flying wing and space wing command billets to brigadier generals, even though previously these had been commanded by colonels.

However, Merrill McPeak is best remembered by many current and since-retired Air Force personnel for the sweeping changes he made to the Air Force's service dress uniform, especially for commissioned officers.

Merrill McPeak continued as Chief of Staff through October 1994, retiring afterwards.

Rightly or wrongly, Merrill McPeak was often accused of ignoring the needs of enlisted personnel, non-flying officers, aeronautically-rated navigator officers, and looking out solely for his officers who were pilots, primarily single-seat fighter pilots.

Merrill McPeak was a founding investor and for a decade Chairman of Ethicspoint, a Portland, Oregon-based software startup.

Merrill McPeak was appointed in July 2010 to the American Battle Monuments Commission.

Merrill McPeak was the tenth Chairman to lead the commission.

Merrill McPeak's leadership was essential in the restoration of the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial, outside Paris.

Merrill McPeak appeared on-screen in 4 of the 10 episodes.

Merrill McPeak was among the initial seven inductees to the Oregon Aviation Hall of Honor.

In May 2012, Merrill McPeak published Hangar Flying, the first volume of The Aerial View Trilogy, three memoirs that document his career in the Air Force.

Merrill McPeak was harshly criticized by American Spectator journalist Robert Goldberg for comments and writings he has made regarding Israel.

In 1976 Merrill McPeak wrote an article for Foreign Affairs magazine questioning Israel's insistence on holding on to the Golan Heights and parts of the West Bank.

In 1996, Merrill McPeak served as Oregon state chairman for the Bob Dole for president campaign.

Merrill McPeak was a co-chair of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.