MAJOR GENERAL FRANCIS C. GIDEON JR. Maj. Gen. Francis C. Gideon Jr. is the chief of safety of the U.S. Air Force, and commander, Headquarters Air Force Safety Center, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. He serves as the senior uniformed adviser to the chief of staff and the secretary of the Air Force on all issues involving the safety of a combined active duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian force of more than 700,000 people serving approximately 2,300 locations in the United States and overseas. His career has touched many aspects of the Air Force mission as fighter pilot and experimental test pilot, and in acquisition, intelligence and logistics. His assignments span the globe from Thailand to England. He commanded one of the Air Force's three test wings and its center for scientific and technical intelligence. He is a command pilot with almost 3,000 hours flying in 30 kinds of aircraft. He was a A-10 test pilot and flew 220 combat missions in Southeast Asia in F-100s and F-4s. EDUCATION 1966 Bachelor of science degree in engineering sciences, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. 1970 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. 1971 Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. 1974 Master of science degree in systems management, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 1979 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. 1981 Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. 1988 The Executive Development Program, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Business, Pittsburgh, Pa. 1990 Defense Systems Management College, Fort Belvoir, Va. ASSIGNMENTS 1. June 1966 - October 1967, student, undergraduate pilot training, Williams Air Force Base, Ariz. 2. October 1967 - June 1968, student, F-100 combat crew training, Luke Air Force Base, Ariz. 3. July 1968 - July 1969, F-100D fighter pilot, 615th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Phan Rang Air Base, Republic of Vietnam 4. August 1969 - December 1971, F-100D fighter pilot, 494th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England 5. December 1971 - March 1973, F-4D fighter pilot, 492nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England 6. March 1973 - July 1973, F-4D fighter pilot and chief, Programs and Mobility, 48th Tactical Fighter Wing, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England 7. August 1973 - December 1974, student, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 8. January 1975 - December 1975, student, Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. 9. December 1975 - May 1976, F-4 test pilot, 6512th Test Squadron, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. 10. May 1976 - August 1980, A-10 test pilot and operations officer, A-10 Joint Test Force, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. 11. August 1980 - May 1981, student, Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. 12. June 1981 - December 1981, chief, Development Plans Aircraft Division, Air Force Systems Command, Andrews Air Force Base, Md. 13. January 1982 - January 1984, deputy director, Development Plans Tactical Systems Directorate, Andrews Air Force Base, Md. 14. January 1984 - September 1984, deputy director, Fighter Attack Systems Program Office, Aeronautical Systems Division, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 15. September 1984 - July 1985, chief, F-15 Projects and Test Division, F-15 Systems Program Office, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 16. July 1985 - December 1986, director, Fighter Attack System Program Office, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 17. December 1986 - May 1987, director, Strike Systems Program Office, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 18. May 1987 - August 1988, commander, 4950th Test Wing, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 19. August 1988 - June 1992, commander, Foreign Aerospace Science and Technology Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 20. June 1992 - May 1993, vice commander, Sacramento Air Logistics Center, McClellan Air Force Base, Calif. 21. June 1993 - June 1997, director of operations, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 22. June 1997 - present, chief of safety, U.S. Air Force, and commander, Headquarters Air Force Safety Center, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. FLIGHT INFORMATION Rating: Command pilot, parachutist Flight hours: Almost 3,000 Aircraft flown: A-7D, A-10, A-37, NKC-135, F-4D/E, F-100D, F-16, T-29, T-38 and RF-4C MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster Distinguished Flying Cross Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster Air Medal with 14 oak leaf clusters Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with bronze star OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS Program Management, Level II Certification Test and Evaluation Level III Certification EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION Second Lieutenant Jun 8, 1966 First Lieutenant Dec 8, 1967 Captain Jun 8, 1969 Major Jun 1, 1976 Lieutenant Colonel Dec 1, 1979 Colonel Sep 1, 1984 Brigadier General Aug 3, 1991 Major General Sep 28, 1994 (Current as of July 2000)