# Michael E. Ryan

Michael Edward Ryan (born December 24, 1941) is a retired United States Air Force general and was the 16th Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force from October 1997 to September 2001. He served as the senior uniformed Air Force officer responsible for the organization, training and equipage of 700,000 active-duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian forces serving in the United States and overseas. As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he and the other service chiefs functioned as military advisers to the Secretary of Defense, National Security Council and the President.

## Military career

Born in San Antonio, Texas in 1941, Ryan entered the U.S. Air Force after graduating from the United States Air Force Academy in 1965; he was a graduate of Omaha Creighton Prep High School. Ryan's father, General John Dale Ryan, was the 7th Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, from 1969 to 1973.
He flew combat missions in Southeast Asia, including 100 missions over North Vietnam in F-4 Phantom II, as part of the 13th Tactical Fighter Squadron based at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand from October 1967 to August 1968. He went through Squadron Officer School in 1969 and the Fighter Weapons Instructor Course at United States Air Force Fighter Weapons School during 1970. From 1971 to 1973, Ryan served as an exchange officer with the Royal Australian Air Force flying the Mirage III. He attended Air Command and Staff College and earned an MBA from Auburn University in 1976. Ryan went to the National War College in 1984. During 1988, Ryan partook in the National Security Program at John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Over his career, Ryan held command at the squadron, wing, numbered air force and major command levels. He also served in staff assignments at the major command level, and in the Pentagon on both the Air Staff and the Joint Staff.
His first assignment as a lieutenant general in 1993 was as the Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the duties of which encompassed being the senior military liaison over at the U.S. Department of State and travelling overseas with the Secretary of State.
As Commander of Sixteenth Air Force at Aviano Air Base and Allied Air Forces Southern Europe in Naples, from 1994 to 1996, Lieutenant General Ryan directed the NATO air combat operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, including the bombing missions of Operation Deliberate Force, which created the context for the U.S. to broker the Dayton Peace Accords between the parties in conflict. Ryan personally approved every NATO target during the two-week Operation Deliberate Force campaign. During his tenure, Captain Scott O'Grady was shot down in a F-16 Fighting Falcon in early June 1995 over Bosnia by a surface-to-air missile launched by the Army of Republika Srpska. O'Grady was rescued a week later.
Before assuming the Chief of Staff position, General Ryan was from April 1996 to October 1997 dual-hatted as Commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Commander of Allied Air Forces Central Europe, with headquarters at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. President Bill Clinton announced the nomination of General Ryan as Chief of Staff of the Air Force on July 31, 1997.
During Operation Allied Force in April 1999, General Ryan made taskings to improve the capability of the Predator drone to collect time-sensitive intelligence for targeting, the results of which would later prove useful in Operation Enduring Freedom. General Ryan formally retired from the U.S. Air Force on October 1, 2001: although the first day on the job of his successor, General John P. Jumper, was on September 11, 2001.

## Awards and decorations

Other accoutrements :
* Command Air Force Pilot Badge
* Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge
Personal decorations :
| | Defense Distinguished Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters |
| | Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster |
| | Army Distinguished Service Medal |
| | Navy Distinguished Service Medal |
| | Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal |
| | Legion of Merit with two bronze oak leaf clusters |
| | Distinguished Flying Cross |
| | Meritorious Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters |
| | Air Medal with two silver and one bronze oak leaf cluster |
| | Air Force Commendation Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters |
| Unit awards ||
| | Presidential Unit Citation |
| | Joint Meritorious Unit Award |
| | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor device and bronze oak leaf cluster |
| | Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with two oak leaf clusters |
| Service awards ||
| | Combat Readiness Medal |
| Campaign and service medals ||
| | National Defense Service Medal with two bronze service stars |
| | Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal |
| | Vietnam Service Medal with three bronze service stars |
| | Armed Forces Service Medal |
| Service, training, and marksmanship awards ||
| | Air Force Overseas Short Tour Service Ribbon with bronze oak leaf cluster |
| | Air Force Overseas Long Tour Service Ribbon with two bronze oak leaf clusters |
| | Air Force Longevity Service Award with silver and three bronze oak leaf clusters |
| | Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon |
| | Air Force Training Ribbon |
| Foreign awards ||
| | Chilean Grand Cross of the Order of Aeronautical Merit |
| | South Korean Order of National Security Merit, Tong-il Medal |
| | Japanese Order of the Rising Sun, 1st Class |
| | Japanese Order of the Sacred Treasure |
| | The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand, 1st Class |
| | Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Knight Commander's Cross |
| | Spanish Grand Cross of the Order of Aeronautical Merit |
| | Singaporean Meritorious Service Medal (Military) |
| | Brazilian Order of Aeronautical Merit, Grand Officer |
| | French Legion of Honour, Commandeur Medal |
| | Netherlands Order of Orange-Nassau w/ swords, Commander |
| | Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Award |
| | NATO Medal for Former Yugoslavia |
| | SICOFAA Legion of Merit Officer Medal |
| | Vietnam Campaign Medal |

## Effective dates of promotion

| Rank | Date |
| General | Apr. 4, 1996 |
| Lieutenant general | May 10, 1993 |
| Major general | Jan. 1, 1991 |
| Brigadier general | May 1, 1988 |
| Colonel | July 1, 1981 |
| Lieutenant colonel | Apr. 1, 1979 |
| Major | June 1, 1976 |
| Captain | June 13, 1968 |
| First lieutenant | Dec. 9, 1966 |
| Second lieutenant | June 9, 1965 |

## Popular culture

General Michael E. Ryan appeared as himself in the Stargate SG-1 4th season episode 19 "Prodigy", a cable television series filmed in Canada receiving technical assistance from the Air Force Entertainment Liaison Office. He agreed to guest-star on Stargate SG-1 because as he put it, "The ideas that come out of science fiction are often more science than fiction." It also appealed to Ryan's sense of wonder, "The exploration of our own solar system is this century's challenge. It would be a big surprise to find a Stargate out there." Lead actor Richard Dean Anderson later recalled asking General Ryan off camera if he had subordinates as irreverent as Anderson's character Jack O'Neill. According to Anderson the reply was, "Son, yes. We've got colonels like you and worse."