Timothy A . Kinnan Timothy Alan Kinnan ( born April 24 , 1948 ) was a Lieutenant General in the United States Air Force he retired from active duty in September 2004 . Personal and family background . Kinnan was born in Tacoma , Washington to the late Henry Wallace ( " Wally " ) Kinnan , and Marjorie Ahrendt . His father , Wally Kinnan , a pioneering television meteorologist and early television personality , was also a B - 17 pilot during World War II and was shot down , spending nearly two years as a POW in Stalag Luft III . While interned Wally was a founding member of the Sagan Serenaders , a group of musicians who were immortalized in the movie " The Great Escape " for holding concerts to cover the sound of digging associated with the escape attempt . Wally ’ s war - time and peace time service created in Tim a strong interest in the US Air Force . Getting both the interest in flying and an interest in music from his father he had to make a choice between the US Air Force Academy and music school . The Air Force won out and he entered the US Air Force Academy in 1966 receiving his commission in 1970 . Following graduation he married Sue Elaine Kelley . He has two daughters , Jennifer and Emily and five grandchildren , Kelley , Jillian , Lydia , Max , and Gabrielle . Education . Kinnan ’ s military education includes the United States Air Force Academy ( USAFA ) in Colorado Springs , Colorado ( Class of 1970 ) ; " Distinguished Graduate Air Force Squadron Officers School " in 1974 , " Air Command and Staff College " in 1976 , " Armed Forces Staff College " in 1981 , " Distinguished Graduate National War College " in 1990 , " Joint Force Air Component Commander Course " in 1995 and " Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course " in 1997 . In his civilian studies , he earned a Master of Science degree in Astronautical and Aeronautical Engineering Purdue University Service career . Kinnan was commissioned a Second Lieutenant upon graduation from the U . S . Air Force Academy with the Class of 1970 . He was a command pilot with more than 3 , 000 flying hours , primarily in the F - 4 , F - 15 and F - 16 . In 1977 , he was awarded the first Risner Trophy as the outstanding fighter pilot in the United States Air Force . In 1993 , as Commander of the 401st Fighter Wing in Aviano , Italy , he led the beddown and support of joint and combined airpower in NATO ' s Deny Flight Operation over Bosnia and Herzegovina . Later , as Commander of the 347th Wing , he was responsible for the first operational deployment to Southwest Asia under the Air Force ' s aerospace expeditionary force concept . Other commands include an F - 15 squadron , the Air War College and Air Force Doctrine Center . General Kinnan served as Vice Director for Strategic Plans and Policy with the Joint Staff in Washington , D . C . , supporting the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in developing military strategy and policy within the interagency process in Washington . His final active duty assignment was U . S . Military Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Military Committee , NATO Headquarters , Brussels , Belgium . He represented the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in deliberations and actions of the military committee , NATO ' s highest military authority . He also worked with military representatives of NATO and Partnership for Peace member nations to develop policy recommendations for the political authorities of the alliance . Civilian career . Until February 2007 he was Vice President , C4ISR at Lockheed Martin Corporation .