Clark George Fiester (January 25, 1934 – April 17, 1995) was an American businessman who served as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition) from 1993 until his death in a plane crash in 1995.

Biography

Clark G. Fiester was born on January 25, 1934. He was educated at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

( B.S.) and

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

(

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

). He later attended a six-week Advanced Management Program at

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

. He served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

and became a captain. In 1957, Fiester joined GTE Government Systems Corp. (which would be acquired by

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales and fifth largest in the Unit ...

in 1999), a company that designed and developed

information security Information security is the practice of protecting information by mitigating information risks. It is part of information risk management. It typically involves preventing or reducing the probability of unauthorized or inappropriate access to data ...

electro-optics Electro–optics is a branch of electrical engineering, electronic engineering, materials science, and material physics involving components, electronic devices such as lasers, laser diodes, LEDs, waveguides, etc. which operate by the prop ...

, and

automated airport weather station Airport weather stations are automated sensor suites which are designed to serve aviation and meteorological operations, weather forecasting and climatology. Automated airport weather stations have become part of the backbone of weather observin ...

s. Fiester was associated with GTE Government Systems Corp. for his entire career, eventually becoming a group vice president and general manager. On November 1, 1993,

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

nominated Fiester to be Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition), and he subsequently held office until his death. Fiester had been a long-time friend of

United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (acronym: SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the United States federal executive departments, executive department of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. Armed Forces, a ...

William Perry William Perry may refer to: Business * William H. Perry (businessman) (1832–1906), American businessman and entrepreneur * William Perry (Queensland businessman) (1835–1891), businessman and politician in Queensland, Australia Politics an ...

, the two having met as undergraduates at Penn State. Fiester died in a

plane crash An aviation accident is an event during aircraft operation that results serious injury, death, or significant destruction. An aviation incident is any operating event that compromises safety but does not escalate into an aviation accident. Pre ...

near

Alexander City, Alabama Alexander City, known to locals as "Alex City", is the largest city in Tallapoosa County, Alabama, Tallapoosa County, Alabama, United States, with a population of 14,843 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It has been the largest ...

, on April 17, 1995. He had been flying on an Air Force

Learjet 35 The Learjet Model 35 and Model 36 are a series of American multi-role business jets and military transport aircraft manufactured by Learjet between 1973 and 1993. When used by the United States Air Force, they carry the designation C-21A. Learj ...

from

Andrews Air Force Base Andrews Air Force Base (Andrews AFB, AAFB) is the airfield portion of Joint Base Andrews, which is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force (USAF). In 2009, Andrews Air Force Base merged with Naval Air Facility Washington to form ...

Randolph Air Force Base Randolph Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Bexar County, Texas, ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio). Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the United ...

when the crash occurred. Also killed in the crash were Colonel Jack Clark II, Fiester's military deputy; Major General Glenn A. Profitt II; and five other members of the Air Force. President Clinton granted a presidential waiver to allow Fiester to be buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiester, Clark G. 1934 births 1995 deaths United States Air Force officers Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Clinton administration personnel United States Air Force civilians Accidental deaths in Alabama Pennsylvania State University alumni Stanford University alumni Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1995 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States