Robert E . Kelley Lieutenant General Robert E . Kelley ( born November 3 , 1933 ) was a U . S . Air Force general , and former Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy . He retired from the U . S . Air Force on September 1 , 1986 . Early life and education . Kelley was born in 1933 in Albany , New York and was raised in New Canaan , Connecticut . He attended Peekskill Military Academy before entering Rutgers University . In June 1956 he received a bachelor of science degree and was commissioned in the U . S . Air Force as a distinguished military graduate of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program . He earned his master ' s degree in international affairs from George Washington University in Washington , D . C . He is a graduate of the National War College at Fort Lesley J . McNair , also in Washington , D . C . He received a Honorary Ph ' d from the University of Nevada Military career . He entered primary flying training at Bainbridge Air Base , Georgia , in August 1956 and completed basic flying training at Greenville Air Force Base ( closed in 1965 ) , Mississippi , earning his wings in September 1957 . Combat crew training in F - 86F ' s ( Top Gun Award ) and F - 100s followed at Williams Air Force Base , Arizona and Nellis Air Force Base , Nevada . His first operational assignment was as an F - 100 pilot with the 461st Fighter - Day Squadron of the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing at Hahn Air Base , Germany . In May 1959 he joined the 53rd Tactical Fighter Squadron at Ramstein Air Base , Germany , served as special weapons officer and was a Select Crew . Returning to the United States in 1961 , Kelley was checked out in F - 104 Starfighter s with the 435th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 479th Tactical Fighter Wing at George Air Force Base , California . He deployed to Germany in the fall of 1961 as part of the United States response to the Berlin crisis . In January 1962 he was selected to help form the 4443rd Combat Crew Training Squadron at George Air Force Base . This unit trained allied instructor pilots in F - 104G ' s as part of the Military Assistance Program . From 1964 to 1967 , General Kelley served in the department of athletics at the U . S . Air Force Academy , Colorado , as the administrative assistant to the director and coached varsity lacrosse ( 1st varsity Coach ) and skiing . During this tour of duty , he qualified as an airborne parachutist ( leadership Award ) at Fort Benning , Georgia . Following three years at the academy , General Kelley completed F - 4 combat crew training ( Top Gun ) at Davis - Monthan Air Force Base , Arizona . He remained at Davis - Monthan as an F - 4 instructor pilot and served as executive officer of the 4453rd Combat Crew Training Wing until December 1968 , when he joined the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing at Da Nang Air Base , Republic of Vietnam . En route to Southeast Asia , he completed the U . S . Air Force Fighter Weapons Instructor Course ( Flying Award ) at Nellis Air Force Base . While at Da Nang , General Kelley completed 119 combat missions in F - 4E ' s before being assigned , in November 1969 , as executive officer of the Tactical Air Control Center , Headquarters Seventh Air Force , Tan Son Nhut Air Base , Republic of Vietnam . When he returned from Southeast Asia in June 1970 , General Kelley became an operations staff officer in the tactics branch of fighter operations , Headquarters Tactical Air Command , Langley Air Force Base . His responsibilities included the Air - to - Air Weapons Evaluation program , Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation , Continental Operations Range and MCM 3 - 1 issues . From August 1972 to July 1973 , he attended the National War College . Assigned to Headquarters U . S . Air Force , Washington , D . C . , in 1973 , he served as chief of the Fighter Forces Branch in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations . He was a member of the Tactical Fighter Force Modernization Study Group convened by the chief of staff and charged with developing a modernization strategy for the 1980s . The general became assistant for general officer matters , Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff , Personnel , at Air Force headquarters in June 1974 . Kelley served as vice commander , U . S . Air Force Tactical Air Warfare Center , Eglin Air Force Base , Florida , from July 1977 to July 1978 ; vice Commander of the West Coast Delta Force and then as commander of Tactical Training Davis - Monthan , Davis - Monthan Air Force Base . In March 1979 General Kelley took command of the U . S . Air Force Tactical Fighter Weapons Center at Nellis Air Force Base and also served as chairman of the executive committee Multinational Test and Evaluation of the F - 16 Fighting Falcon . He was appointed the ninth Superintendent of the U . S . Air Force Academy , Colorado , in June 1981 . His final assignment was as vice commander , Tactical Air Command , with headquarters at Langley Air Force Base , Virginia . He was promoted to lieutenant general July 1 , 1983 , with same date of rank . Kelley retired October 1 , 1986 . Flight hours , awards , and decorations . He was a command pilot with more than 4 , 000 flying hours . Fighter aircraft he has flown include F - 86s , F - 100s , F - 104s , F - 4s , A - 7s , A - 10s , F - 5s , F - l5s , F - 16s and F - 111s . His military decorations and awards include the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster , Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster , Distinguished Flying Cross , Bronze Star , Air Medal with eight oak leaf cluster s , Air Force Commendation Medal , Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal 1st Class and Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm . Post - military life . General Kelley served as a Director of The Canon Institute in Princeton , New Jersey , and President of the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge . Kelley has also founded a defense consulting firm , a sports marketing company , and Wright Stuff Press . General Kelley also served as Senior Military Advisor to the Air Force ' s " Gulf War Air Power Survey . " He served on the Board of the Lacrosse Foundation & Hall of Fame , the Board of Veterans Advantage , the Board of Directors of the Air Force Academy Foundation , and the American - European Community Association , . He is a member of the Order of Daedalians , a life member of US Lacrosse and US Squash and a member of The Merion Cricket Club . In 1984 , Kelley was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame . He was inducted into the Rutgers Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994 and into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 1999 . He won the National Squash Championship for his age group in 1999 ; the Hyder Trophy in 2000 and the Eastern States Veterans Championship in 2001 .