General Merrill A. “Tony” McPeak

Four-star general, Retired Air Force Chief of Staff: livingous

With more than 6,000 hours logged principally in fighter aircraft, 269 combat missions, pilot wings from 11 countries, and two years spent as a member of the Thunderbirds, the famed Air Force precision
flying team, General Merrill “Tony” McPeak was a natural to command the US Air Force during the Gulf War. Entering the Air Force in 1957, McPeak flew as an attack pilot and high-speed forward air controller during the Vietnam War. In Vietnam he served as the 20th Tactical Fighter Wing Commander from February 25,
1980 to May 26, 1981. He then spent two years as a pilot for the elite aerial exhibition team the hunderbirds. A highly decorated four-star general, McPeak assumed the role of Air Force Chief of Staff in October 1990 and directed the air campaign in Operation Desert Storm. Over the next four years, he accomplished the largest reorganization of the Air Force in United States history. Following Desert Storm, McPeak participated in the development of improved guided munitions enabling more precise targeting of
air strikes. As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he also functioned as a military adviser to the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council, and the President of the United States. He retired in 1994 to Lake Oswego, Oregon, where he is president of McPeak and Associates, an international aerospace-consulting firm. He also serves as Chairman of ECC International, a military simulation training company, and serves on the Board of Directors of several other hightech companies. McPeak continues to lecture widely and is an expert commentator on television and radio regarding military operations.

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