Ronald J. Hays

Admiral Ronald Jackson Hays

Ronald Jackson Hays (born August 19, 1928 in Urania , Louisiana ) is a former American admiral in the US Navy , who was Commander-in-Chief of US Naval Forces Europe from 1980 to 1983 , Vice Chief of Naval Operations from 1983 to 1985, and from 1985 to In 1988 he was Commander in Chief of US Pacific Command . For his military services as a pilot of a fighter aircraft of type Grumman A-6 during the Vietnam War , he was awarded from 1966 to 1967 several times.

Life

Military training

After attending school in 1946, Hays began his military training at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis , which he graduated in 1950. Studying at Northwestern State University , he finished with a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) and entered 1950 as lieutenant into the US Navy, in which he initially as an officer on a destroyer of the US Atlantic Fleet ( US Atlantic Fleet ) was used. He then completed training as a naval aviator from 1951 to 1952, which he completed with the pilot's badge (Naval Aviator Badge) . This was followed from 1953 to 1956 to be used as pilot of a fighter plane in the US Pacific Fleet ( US Pacific Fleet ) . After he was a test pilot between 1956 and 1959, he became commander of an air squadron in 1961 after further assignments .

Vietnam War

During the Vietnam War acted Commander Hays 1966-1967 as a pilot of a fighter aircraft of type Grumman A-6 and commander on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk stationed 85th attack squadron (Attack Squadron 85) and has received several awards for its local services and military services.

On April 16, 1966, Hays flew a dangerous daytime attack with another pilot against the Qui Vinh railway depot in northern Vietnam, where he was exposed to strong anti-aircraft defenses with artillery and rifles. Nevertheless, despite his own damage to his aircraft, he managed to drop his bombs on the railway line between North and South Vietnam, thereby destroying large parts of the railway network as well as several of the railroad cars and locomotives standing there. For this mission he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross . On April 18, 1966, he flew another mission with another pilot against the Uông Bí power station near Hải Phong . He flew the attack at night to avoid early detection and defense by enemy aircraft, surface-to-air missiles and air defense. The bombs he dropped triggered explosions in the power plant, which led to a power outage in the area. For this achievement he was again awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. On December 13, 1966, he planned and commanded an attack group consisting of 25 aircraft during a daylight attack on the heavily guarded Van Dien vehicle depot, eight kilometers from Hanoi . Despite the bombardment and the damage to his aircraft on one wing, he forwarded the attack of the association and was able to drop the bombs over the intended target area. For these services he was awarded the Silver Star .

On January 21, 1967, Hays was also the commander of an attack force of 30 aircraft against the heavily guarded and strategically important industrial area around Ninh Bình . Despite the daytime attack, his association was able to hit numerous targets and was again honored with the Distinguished Flying Cross. On March 10, he led another attack force of 30 aircraft against the strategically important power plant of Hồng Gai near Ha Long . Despite renewed air defense, his association was able to cause considerable damage in the target area. For these services he was again awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. On March 11, 1967, frigate captain Hays ordered an attack formation of 17 fighter planes and eleven other supporting planes in a daylight attack against the power station of Bắc Giang in the province of the same name , just under 50 kilometers from Hanoi. In the process, he succeeded in dropping the bombs intended for the target, despite violent enemy defensive actions. For this he was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

On March 16, 1967, he flew another night raid on the strategically most important power plant of Bắc Giang. After his partner aircraft had to abort the attack due to a malfunction, he flew the attack in complete darkness and at low altitude despite difficult weather conditions and was able to drop the bombs on the planned target again. In the days that followed, from March 18 to 24, 1967, he led four more night attacks by his association against the only steel and iron combine in North Vietnam and against two of the country's most important thermal power stations, both of which were inland. His squadron experienced considerable resistance from anti-aircraft units and aircraft of the North Vietnamese People's Army in the region of Đồng Bằng Sông Hồng , the area of ​​the Red River Delta . For these actions he was awarded the Silver Star two more times. On April 24, 1967, he led another attack against the North Vietnamese interceptor base Kép in the province of Bắc Giang. In doing so, despite considerable defensive measures, he again managed to damage the base equipped with Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 interceptors. For this, too, he was honored with the Distinguished Flying Cross. Finally, he flew on May 19, 1967 with his squadron consisting of 19 aircraft as part of a major attack by the 11th Naval Aviation Division (Air Wing Eleven) an attack on the material depot of the North Vietnamese People's Army in Văn Thiển, a suburb of Hanoi. His unit flew over around 200 kilometers of enemy territory. For this mission, too, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross for the seventh time. In addition, he was awarded the Legion of Merit for his military services in the Vietnam War .

Flag officer

After the end of its use on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk Hays was initially 1967-1969 officer for air warfare on the staff of the US 7th Fleet, before 1969 the US Department of the Navy ( US Department of the Navy ) to Washington, DC appointed where he became a tactical aircraft planning officer in the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) office. He held this position until 1971 and was then commander ( Commanding Officer ) of on Puerto Rico lying Marine airbase Roosevelt Roads Naval Station .

Then returned Hays to the office of the CNO back, where he was head of the Department of Marine programming before it as Rear Admiral Commander of the US Atlantic Fleet ( US Atlantic Fleet ) belonging to the fourth aircraft carrier division (Carrier Division Four) was, from today's Carrier Strike Group 4 emerged .

This was followed by a position between August 1975 and July 1978 as Director of the Office of Program Appraisal ( OPA ) in the US Department of Navy and was thus responsible for the examination of all programs of the US Navy and the US Marine Corps . At the same time he was becoming the Counsel to the US Navy Minister ( US Secretary of the Navy ) , the Chief of Naval Operations and the Commandant of the Marine Corps . He was first honored with the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for his services in this role .

Subsequently, Hays became Vice-Commander-in-Chief and Chief of Staff of the US Armed Forces in the Atlantic (US Atlantic Command) as Vice Admiral in July 1978 and also Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the US Atlantic Fleet and remained in this post until August 1980. He was thus Vice- Commander-in-chief of all US armed forces in the West Atlantic area and in the Atlantic Ocean and supported the Commander-in-Chief of these units in matters of organization, administration, training, readiness and operations. For his services there he was again awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal.

US Navy admiral and private sector activity

Subsequently, Hays was promoted to Admiral in September 1983 and took over as the successor to Admiral Joseph P. Moorer as Commander in Chief of the US Naval Forces Europe (US Naval Forces Europe) . He held this position until January 1983 and was also Commander of the US Armed Forces in the East Atlantic (US Commander Eastern Atlantic) . After he was appointed as commander of US Naval Forces in Europe Admiral William J. Crowe, Jr. replaced, who is also commander of the NATO -Streitkräfte in southern Europe AFSOUTH ( Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe ) was. Hays was temporarily from January to March 1983 Deputy Commander in Chief of the US Naval Forces Europe and thus representative of his successor.

This was followed by Admiral Hays in April 1983, Admiral William N. Small as Vice Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO). He held the second highest function within the leadership of the US Navy after the Chief of Naval Operations. He held this office until September 1985 and was then replaced by Admiral James B. Busey IV .

Most recently, Admiral Hays succeeded Admiral William J. Crowe, Jr., as Commander in Chief of the US Pacific Command on September 18, 1985 . He was thus commander in chief of this cross -armed regional command of the US armed forces and responsible for the Pacific and Southeast Asian region. In this post, Hays remained until his retirement from active military service on September 15, 1988 and was then replaced on September 30, 1988 by Admiral Huntington Hardisty .

On June 15, 1988, Hays received the Gray Eagles Trophy , an award given in 1960 by the aircraft manufacturer Chance Vought Aircraft for naval aviators with the longest active service life. He took over the award from Lieutenant General Frank E. Peterson and presented the award to Vice Admiral Robert F. Dunn when he retired from active service on September 15, 1988 .

Hays then switched to the private sector and was initially Chairman of the Board of Management and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research between 1988 and 1992 , before taking up a position as a freelance technical consultant in 1992.

Awards

•   Navy Distinguished Service Medal (4 ×)
•   Silver Star (3 ×)
•   Legion of Merit
•   Distinguished Flying Cross (7 ×)

Web links

• Entry in the Hall of Valor of the Military Times
• The International Who's Who 2004 , Europa Publications, p. 706

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Commander in Chief US Naval Forces Europe on the homepage of the Naval History and Heritage Command
2. ↑ Chief of Naval Operations on the homepage of the Naval History and Heritage Command
3. ↑ Gray Eagles on the Naval History and Heritage Command homepage