Sanford K . Moats Lieutenant General Sanford Kenneth Moats ( born December 4 , 1921 ) was an American Air Force lieutenant general and fighter ace . He was vice commander of the Tactical Air Command , with headquarters at Langley Air Force Base , Virginia , responsible for maintaining peak combat efficiency in the tactical fighter and reconnaissance operations , and training air and ground crews as required for U . S . Air Forces in Europe and Pacific Air Forces . Biography . Moats was born in 1921 , in Kansas City , Missouri . He attended Kansas State College before entering the Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet . He completed pilot training and was commissioned a second lieutenant in December 1943 . Moats went to England in 1944 as a P - 51 Mustang pilot . During his service in the European Theater of Operations , he flew 89 combat missions with a total of 367 combat hours and qualified as an ace . In 1945 he was transferred to the Pacific area for duty with the U . S . Army Air Forces and returned later that year to Army Air Forces headquarters in Washington , D . C . In 1947 he again went overseas and was assigned to the 81st Fighter Wing at Wheeler Field , Hawaii . Following exchange duty in 1950 with the U . S . Marine Corps , he rejoined the 81st Fighter Wing at Royal Air Force Station Bentwaters , England , in 1951 , as pilot , operations officer , and then commander of the 91st Fighter Squadron . Moats was assigned in September 1955 to the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force , Washington , D . C . , where he was chief of the Civil Branch , Community Relations Division . In December 1957 he assumed command of the 60th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Otis Air Force Base , Mass . In September 1960 he was named director , Combat Operations , 26th Air Division at Hancock Field , Syracuse , N . Y . , and became director of operations and training before leaving there in January 1963 . Moats attended the Military Assistance Institute and in March 1963 was assigned to the Military Assistance Advisory Group , Republic of China , in Taipei . In July 1965 he became vice commander of the 401st Tactical Fighter Wing at England Air Force Base , La . During this tour of duty , he flew 18 combat missions while on temporary duty in Southeast Asia . The 401st Wing moved in April 1966 to Torrejon Air Base , Spain , where he assumed command of the wing in April 1967 , and became vice commander of Sixteenth Air Force in November 1968 . Moats was assigned as vice commander , Tenth Air Force , at Richards - Gebaur Air Force Base , Missouri , in August 1969 , and was commander , 26th Air Division and 26th North American Air Defense Command Region , at Luke Air Force Base , Ariz . , from November 1969 until August 1970 . Moats returned to Europe in September 1970 as chief of the Joint U . S . Military Group - Military Assistance Advisory Group , Spain , and in October 1972 assumed command of Sixteenth Air Force . In August 1973 he was appointed commander of the Sixth Allied Tactical Air Force with headquarters at Izmir , Turkey . He became vice commander , Tactical Air Command , Langley Air Force Base , Va . , in September 1975 . His military decorations and awards include the Distinguished Service Cross , Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster , Legion of Merit , Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster , Air Medal with 11 oak leaf clusters , Joint Service Commendation Medal , Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters , Belgian Croix de Guerre with palm , and the Spanish Grand Cross of the Order of the Aeronautical Merit with white device . Moats ' hometown is Mission , Kansas . He was promoted to the grade of lieutenant general effective Aug . 20 , 1973 , with same date of rank .