Duane H . Cassidy Duane Harlan Cassidy ( born November 24 , 1933 ) is a former General in the United States Air Force and the former commander of the Military Airlift Command and United States Transportation Command . Biography . Early life . Cassidy was born in Coraopolis , Pennsylvania , in 1933 . He earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of Nebraska in 1968 and a master of science degree from Troy State University in 1975 . He completed Squadron Officer School in 1961 at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in 1973 , the J . L . Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in 1979 , and the program for senior executives in national and international security at the John F . Kennedy School of Government , Harvard University , in 1983 . Upon completion of aviation cadet training , the general was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1954 . He then attended navigator training at Harlingen and James Connally Air Force Base s , Texas . His initial operational assignments in the Air Force were to the Military Air Transport Service : first to the Air Weather Service ' s 6th Weather Group , Wright - Patterson Air Force Base , Ohio , flying B - 25 Mitchell s , and then to Air Rescue Service ' s 49th Air Rescue Squadron , Selfridge Air Force Base , Michigan . During these assignments he participated in numerous rescue and weather reconnaissance missions , including the hydrogen weapons test in 1956 at Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands . His navigator assignments ended after two years as a Military Air Transport Service C - 121 Constellation line crew member at Charleston Air Force Base , South Carolina . He entered pilot training in December 1958 . Cassidy was assigned to Strategic Air Command after graduation from pilot training and flew B - 47 Stratojet s at McCoy Air Force Base , Florida , Little Rock Air Force Base , Arkansas , and Lincoln Air Force Base , Nebraska . In November 1965 he transferred to Minot Air Force Base , North Dakota , and served with the 810th Strategic Aerospace Division , whose mission included B - 52 Stratofortress bomber and LGM - 30 Minuteman missile operations . In September 1968 he was assigned to the Republic of Vietnam , serving first with 7th Air Force ' s Tactical Air Control Center and then with the Military Assistance Command ' s Vietnam Directorate of Public Affairs as an air briefer to the Saigon press corps . The general returned to the Air Force airlift mission in October 1969 . He was assigned to Military Airlift Command headquarters as executive to the deputy chief of staff for operations , and later as executive aide and pilot for the Military Airlift Command commander . In August 1972 he assumed command of the 8th Airlift Squadron , McChord Air Force Base , Washington . He entered the Air War College in August 1974 and , upon graduation , again served at Military Airlift Command headquarters , as assistant chief of staff . In August 1976 Cassidy was assigned as vice commander of the 63rd Airlift Wing at Norton Air Force Base , California . In February 1978 he became commander of the wing . He returned to Military Airlift Command headquarters in July 1980 and served initially as assistant deputy chief of staff for operations . In August 1981 he became the command ' s deputy chief of staff for operations . From October 1983 to August 1984 he served as commander of Military Airlift Command ' s 21st Air Force at McGuire Air Force Base , New Jersey During this period Military Airlift Command was heavily involved in support of United States ' operations in Lebanon and Grenada . General Cassidy then transferred to Headquarters United States Air Force , Washington D . C . , where he served as deputy chief of staff for manpower and personnel . He was promoted to general November 8 , 1985 , with same date of rank . The general assumed command of Military Airlift Command in September 1985 and of the United States Transportation Command upon its activation Oct . 1 , 1987 . Awards . Awards earned during his career :