page_title: Merrill McPeak
section_title: Air Force Chief of Staff
hierarchical_section_title: Merrill McPeak / Air Force Chief of Staff
caption_attribution_description: English: Air Force Chief of Staff General Merrill McPeak inspect U.S. Air Force personnel deployed in the Middle East during Operation Desert Shield.
context_page_description: Merrill Anthony "Tony" McPeak is a retired 4-star general in the United States Air Force whose final assignment before retirement was as the 14th Chief of Staff of the Air Force from 1990 to 1994.
  In 1993, McPeak served as Acting Secretary of the Air Force, before Sheila E. Widnall was appointed by President Bill Clinton, and is the only Chief of Staff of the Air Force and uniformed Air Force officer on active duty to have ever served as Acting Secretary.
context_section_description: McPeak was appointed Air Force Chief of Staff by President George H.W. Bush in October 1990, replacing the retiring General Michael Dugan following the latter's removal from the CSAF post by SECDEF Dick Cheney for ill-timed and inappropriate comments to the news media regarding Iraq during Operation Desert Shield.
  McPeak took over as Chief of Staff during Operation Desert Shield, and assisted in overall strategic planning for Operation Desert Storm.
  McPeak's later tenure as Chief of Staff following the Gulf War also saw a major reduction in force  in terms of aircraft, units, officers and enlisted airmen across the entire Air Force as a result of the end of the Cold War. During his time as Chief of Staff, he oversaw the disestablishment of Strategic Air Command (SAC), Tactical Air Command (TAC), Military Airlift Command (MAC), Air Force Systems Command (AFSC), Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC), and Air Force Communications Command (AFCC), with assets transferred primarily to the newly-established Air Combat Command (ACC), Air Mobility Command (AMC), Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) and the then-Air Force Communications Agency. His tenure also oversaw the merging of Air Training Command (ATC) and Air University (AU) into the Air Education and Training Command (AETC).
  McPeak pushed through major organizational changes in the Air Force aimed at streamlining and emphasizing operations and combat readiness. Much of his tenure focused on elevating the status of flight operations, especially single-seat fighter pilots, some say at the expense of multi-seat fighter, bomber and reconnaissance aircraft and personnel, cargo and air refueling aircraft and personnel, and non-flying career fields. He also created the Air Force Expeditionary Wing concept, a fusion of combat forces and support into a single organization. He also transferred several flying wing and space wing command billets to brigadier generals, even though previously these had been commanded by colonels.
  However, McPeak is best remembered by many current and since-retired Air Force personnel for the sweeping changes he made to the Air Force's service dress uniform, especially for commissioned officers. Worn by more personnel during most duties, the new version was a radical departure from the earlier version, which was essentially the same design as the then-U.S. Army service uniform (the U.S. Air Force was originally the U.S. Army Air Corps and then the U.S. Army Air Forces), but with fewer insignia. Because of the new uniform's resemblance to both commissioned officer's uniforms of the U.S. Navy and those of commercial airline pilots, the McPeak uniform was said to be unpopular with Air Force service members. Some uniform changes were subsequently reversed by his successor. The basic redesign continues to be worn to this day, but the navalized sleeve braid rank insignia for officers was eliminated and name tags reinstituted, albeit in silver metal versus the blue plastic nametags worn with the earlier uniform, with the blue plastic nametags still worn on service uniform shirts. McPeak's original concept of simplifying and toning down the various devices and insignia pinned to the uniform has gone by the wayside, with nearly all USAF personnel wearing at least one, if not two, three or more metal insignia with their dress uniforms.
  McPeak also acted as Secretary of the Air Force for three weeks in 1993, before the formal appointment and confirmation of Sheila E. Widnall, becoming the only person to have ever concurrently served in both capacities. McPeak continued as Chief of Staff through October 1994, retiring afterwards.
  McPeak's legacy as Chief of Staff has been considered in several quarters as one of the most controversial in Air Force history and has been the subject of much debate. Many Air Force senior officers and senior enlisted personnel, both active and retired from the Regular Air Force, the Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard, have accused him of trying to run the Air Force as a corporation, with his introduction of Total Quality Management 
caption: Air Force Chief of Staff General Merrill McPeak inspecting U.S. Air Force personnel deployed in the Middle East during Operation Desert Shield on May 5, 1992.
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