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        BRIGADIER GENERAL GEORGE C. CANNON JR.Brigadier General George C. Cannon Jr., is deputy commander, 22d North American Air Defense Command Region, with headquarters at Canadian Forces Base North Bay, Ontario, Canada. Commanded by a Canadian Forces major general, the 22d is the largest NORAD Region, encompassing much of eastern and all of northern Canada. General Cannon is also the senior U.S. military officer in Canada. 
General Cannon was born in Hope, Ark., in 1928. He attended public schools in Phoenix, Ariz and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force upon graduation from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1950. He earned a master of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1956; was a distinguished graduate of the Air Command and Staff College in 1962; and completed Industrial College of the Armed Forces by correspondence in 1972. 
General Cannon completed pilot training at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, and Williams Air Force Base, Ariz., in 1951. After F-80 combat crew training at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., he was briefly assigned to the 44th Fighter-Bomber Squadron at Clark Air Base, Philippines, and then moved to Korea as a pilot and assistant operations officer with the 36th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 8th Fighter-Bomber Wing, at Suwon Air Base. He flew 100 combat missions in the F-80 over North Korea. 
He returned to the United States in August 1952 as a tactical fighter pilot, jet instructor pilot, and flight commander, first with the 416th and then the 435th Fighter Squadrons, TAC, at George Air Force Base, Calif. During this assignment he flew the F-51D, T-33, F-86F, and the F-100A. 
After earning his graduate degree, General Cannon was an aeronautical engineer and deputy chief, Applied Engineering Branch with the 4750th Test Squadron, ADC, first at Yuma, Ariz., and later at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. He conducted numerous test projects of air defense weapons scoring systems and aircraft arresting systems, and also flew the F-89J and F-102A interceptors in test projects. 
After graduation from the Air Command and Staff College in 1962, he was assigned to Headquarters Aerospace Defense Command at Ent Air Force Base, Colo., as project officer for the Improved Manned Interceptor and later as chief, Future Weapons Branch in the Aeronautical Systems Division, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans. He participated in the OSD-directed Continental Air Defense Study in 1963, and a similar effort, Project Blue Dart, in 1964. 
General Cannon completed combat crew training in the F-5 Freedom Fighter in May 1965 at Williams Air Force Base, Ariz., and attended the Military Assistance Institute at Arlington, Va., before being assigned as Air Defense Officer, Air Force Section, Joint U.S. Military Advisory Group, Greece. In that assignment he was responsible for activating, equipping, and training three Greek F-5 fighter squadrons and monitoring the extension of the NATO Air Defense ground Environment System into Greece. 
In September 1967 he was assigned to the 6146th Air Force Advisory Group as senior advisor to the Republic of Korea air force's 1st Fighter Wing at Kwangju Air Base, Korea. Following the North Korean capture of the "Pueblo" in January 1968, he activated the U.S. Air Force Base at Kwangju and through July 1968 had the additional duty as commander of the 6171st Air Base Squadron. 
1n September 1968 General Cannon began a four-year tour in the directorate of development and acquisition, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Research and Development, at Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. He served first as a staff officer within the directorate and then, from May 1971 to August 1972, as chief of the Aeronautical Systems Division, which at that time was Air Staff office of primary responsibility for all aircraft development programs, including the F-15, B-1 and A-10. 
In September 1972 General Cannon returned to Headquarters Aerospace Defense Command as director of maintenance engineering. In May 1973 he became assistant deputy chief of staff, logistics, ADC, and Assistant J-4, NORAD. He became commander, 23d Air Division, ADCOM, and deputy commander, 23d NORAD Region, at Duluth International Airport, Minn., in August 1974. He assumed his present duty as deputy commander, 22d NORAD Region, in July 1976. 
General Cannon is a command pilot. He has flown more than 25 types of military aircraft. His military decorations and awards include the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with two oak 1eaf clusters, and the Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster. 
He was promoted to the grade of brigadier general on Dec. 15, 1975, with date of rank Nov. 27, 1975. 
(Current as of September 1976)
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