George T. Babbitt Jr.

General George T. Babbitt, Jr.

George T. Babbitt, Jr. (born June 22, 1942 in Bremerton , Washington ) is a former American general in the US Air Force , who was last from 1997 to 2000 Commander in Chief of the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC ).

Life

Training as an air force officer

Babbitt played drums as a schoolboy and was the first drummer of the instrumental rock band The Ventures, founded in 1958 . However, he left the band before the first big hit Walk - Don't run (1960) because he was not old enough to play in bars and nightclubs. and graduated from school with a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Washington , which he completed in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc. Mechanical Engineering). During his studies he joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps Program at the University of Washington and was accepted into the US Air Force after his promotion to lieutenant on March 19, 1965. In the following period he completed a course in aircraft maintenance between June 1965 and February 1966 at Chanute Air Force Base and was then from February 1966 to June 1969 maintenance officer for McDonnell F-4 "Phantom II" at RAF Alconbury , a Royal Air Force base . There he was promoted to lieutenant on November 30, 1966 and to captain on June 12, 1968 .

After his return to the United States followed between June 1969 and September 1970, a post-graduate studies in specialized logistics management at the Air Force Institute of Technology at the military airfield Wright-Patterson Air Force Base , he with a Master of Science (MSc Logistics Management ) completed. He was then a maintenance officer of the 12th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron from September 1970 to September 1971 at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in South Vietnam and, after his return, between September 1971 and August 1973 he was a maintenance planner in the system program office for Rockwell B-1 A , a first of Rockwell International and later by Boeing planned supersonic speed , strategic long-range bombers , which was never put into service. He then served as a manager of support equipment and parts at the Rockwell B-1 A systems office from August 1973 to January 1976. During this time he completed a program manager course at the Defense Systems Management College at Fort Belvoir in 1975 and was promoted to major on May 1, 1975 . He then found between January 1976 and January 1978 use as assistant program manager for logistics in the program office for the Precision Location Strike System , which was also located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

After attending Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk from January to July 1978, Babbitt became a maintenance officer in July 1978 and, after his promotion to Lieutenant Colonel on November 1, 1979, commander of the 1st Aircraft Generation Squadron at Langley Air Force Base . This was followed between August 1980 and September 1981 as commander of the 36th Aircraft Generation Squadron at Bitburg Air Base and from September 1981 to August 1984 as assistant to the deputy commander for maintenance and after his promotion to Colonel on August 1, 1984 as deputy commander for maintenance of the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing, also stationed at Bitburg Air Base . After studying at the Air War College (AWC) at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base from July 1985 to June 1986 , he served as Head of Unit between June 1986 and June 1990 and most recently as Deputy Head of Logistics Planning and Programs at US Air Headquarters Force in Washington, DC and completed during this period in 1989 and a course in management development at the JL Kellogg Graduate School of management of Northwestern University .

Promotion to general

In June 1990, Babbitt took over the post as head of the logistics department at the headquarters of the Air Force Training Command ATC ( Air Training Command ) at Randolph Air Force Base and remained at this post until July 1992. There he was promoted to brigadier general on September 1, 1990 . He then served between July 1992 and June 1993 as head of the logistics department at the headquarters of the US Air Forces in Europe USAFE ( United States Air Forces in Europe ) at Ramstein Air Base and from June 1993 to March 1994 as head of the supply department at the headquarters of the US Air Force in Washington, DC During this time, he was promoted to major general on July 1, 1993 and also completed a course in administrative management at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1993 .

Babbitt served from April 1994 to June 1995 as the deputy director and head of materials management at the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA ), an Alexandria- based logistics agency for the US Department of Defense . He then served as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Force for Logistics between June 1995 and October 1996 and was promoted to lieutenant general shortly after taking over the post on July 1, 1995 . He was then director of the Defense Logistics Agency from October 1996 to May 1997, which has since been relocated to Fort Belvoir .

Most recently, Babbitt took over from General Henry Viccellio Jr. in May 1997 as Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC ) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and held this position until his replacement by General Lester Lyles in May 2000. In this He was promoted to general on June 1, 1997 . As commander-in-chief of the AFMC, he was responsible for research, development, testing and evaluation, as well as providing procurement services and logistics support to keep the US Air Force and its weapons systems operational for war operations.

Babbitt has received multiple awards for his military merits and bravery, including the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal , the Defense Superior Service Medal , the Legion of Merit , the Bronze Star Medal , the Meritorious Service Medal and the Air Force Commendation Medal . He was also awarded the Vietnam Service Medal with three silver stars and the South Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with a palm tree.

Web links

• Biography on the US Air Force homepage
• Entry on Hall of Valor

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Babbitt played drums in 1998 when The Ventures performed at DAR Constitution Hall . In: DAR Constitution Hall Concert March, 1, 1998