Richard Myers Richard Bowman Myers ( born March 1 , 1942 ) is a retired four - star general in the United States Air Force and served as the 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . As Chairman , Myers was the highest ranking uniformed officer of the United States ' military forces . General Myers became the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs on October 1 , 2001 . In this capacity , he served as the principal military advisor to the President , the Secretary of Defense , and the National Security Council during the earliest stages of the War on Terror , including planning and execution of the 2003 invasion of Iraq . On September 30 , 2005 , he retired and was succeeded by General Peter Pace . His Air Force career included operational command and leadership positions in a variety of Air Force and Joint assignments . Early life . Myers was born in Kansas City , Missouri . He graduated from Shawnee Mission North High School in 1960 . He graduated from Kansas State University with a B . S . in mechanical engineering in 1965 where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity . He was commissioned by Detachment 270 of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at KSU . He graduated from Auburn University Montgomery with a Master in 1977 . The General has attended the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base , Alabama ; the U . S . Army War College at Carlisle Barracks , Pennsylvania ; and the Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security at Harvard University ' s John F . Kennedy School of Government . General Myers entered the Air Force in 1965 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program . He received pilot training from 1965 to 1966 at Vance Air Force Base , Oklahoma . Myers is a command pilot with more than 4 , 100 flying hours in the T - 33 Shooting Star , C - 37 , C - 21 , F - 4 , F - 15 Eagle and F - 16 Fighting Falcon , including 600 combat hours in the F - 4 . Commander and Chairman . Prior to becoming Chairman , he served as the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from March 2000 to September 2001 . As Vice Chairman , General Myers served as the Chairman of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council , Vice Chairman of the Defense Acquisition Board , and as a member of the National Security Council Deputies Committee and the Nuclear Weapons Council . In addition , he acted for the Chairman in all aspects of the Planning , Programming and Budgeting System including participation in the Defense Resources Board . From August 1998 to February 2000 , General Myers was Commander in Chief of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U . S . Space Command ; Commander of the Air Force Space Command ; and Department of Defense manager of the space transportation system contingency support at Peterson Air Force Base , Colorado . As commander , General Myers was responsible for defending America through space and intercontinental ballistic missile operations . Prior to assuming that position , he was Commander , Pacific Air Forces , Hickam Air Force Base , Hawaii , from July 1997 to July 1998 . From July 1996 to July 1997 he served as Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon ; and from November 1993 to June 1996 General Myers was Commander of U . S . Forces Japan and 5th Air Force at Yokota Air Base , Japan . He was the acting chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( CJCS ) during the September 11th , 2001 , terror attacks because CJCS Shelton was en route to Europe . However , at the time the Pentagon was attacked , he was on Capitol Hill and not in the Pentagon . He did leave Capitol Hill and spent the remainder of the day in the Pentagon . His office was not damaged during the attack . He officially took position as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( CJCS ) on October 1 , 2001 . he served as the principal military advisor to the President , the Secretary of Defense , and the National Security Council during the earliest stages of the War on Terror , including planning of the War in Afghanistan and planning and execution of the 2003 invasion of Iraq . Retirement and Post - retirement . On 27 September 2005 , only three days before leaving his post as Chairman , Myers said of the war in Iraq that , " the outcome and consequences of defeat are greater than World War II . " His rise to and stint as Chairman are chronicled in " Washington Post " reporter Bob Woodward ' s book , " State of Denial " , as well as his own book " Eyes on The Horizon " . On September 30 , 2005 , he retired and was succeeded by General Peter Pace . His Air Force career included operational command and leadership positions in a variety of Air Force and Joint assignments . On November 9 , 2005 , Myers received the Presidential Medal of Freedom . His citation reads : In 2006 , General Myers accepted a part - time appointment as a Foundation Professor of Military History at Kansas State University . That same year , he was also elected to the Board of Directors of Northrop Grumman Corporation , the world ’ s third largest defense contractor . On 13 September 2006 , he also joined the board of directors of United Technologies Corporation . He also serves on the boards of Aon Corporation , John Deere , the USO and holds the Colin L . Powell Chair for National Security , Leadership , Character and Ethics at the National Defense University . He also has advised the Defense Health Board and served on the Army War College Board of Visitors . On 26 July 2011 , Myers was inducted into the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Distinguished Alumni in a ceremony at Maxwell AFB , Alabama , officiated by Lt . Gen . Allen G . Peck , Commander , Air University . Personal life . General Myers and his wife , the former Mary Jo Rupp , have three children : two daughters and a son .