Lieutenant General David J. McCloud (February 15, 1945 – July 26, 1998) was an American

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

lieutenant general. His final assignment was as commander of Alaskan Command,

11th Air Force In music theory, an eleventh is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a fourth. A perfect eleventh spans 17 and the augmented eleventh 18 semitones, or 10 steps in a diatonic scale. Since there are only seven degrees in a diaton ...

, and the Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region, headquartered at

Elmendorf Air Force Base Elmendorf Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) facility in Anchorage, Alaska. Originally known as Elmendorf Field, it became Elmendorf Air Force Base after World War II. It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Air Command ( ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. He grew up in

Sun Valley, California Sun Valley is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California in the San Fernando Valley region. The neighborhood is known for its younger population. There are three recreation centers in Sun Valley, one of which is a historic site. The neighborhood ...

and was a graduate of

John H. Francis Polytechnic High School John H. Francis Polytechnic High School is a secondary school located in the Sun Valley neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It serves grades 9 through 12 and is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Despite its n ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering from

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge), is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as of Fall 2024), it has the ...

and a Master of Arts Degree in Management and Supervision from

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

, Mount Pleasant. He entered the

US 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 ...

in 1969 and was a distinguished graduate of Officer Training School,

Lackland Air Force Base Lackland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located in Bexar County, Texas, United States. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 802d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and an enclave of ...

, Texas. He was a command pilot with more than 4,100 flying hours, principally in fighter aircraft. He died 26 July 1998 in Anchorage, Alaska, when the aircraft he was piloting crashed. He was 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. ...

Military education

*1975

Squadron Officer School Squadron Officer School (SOS), is a 5.5-week-long Professional Military Education (PME) course for U.S. Air Force and Space Force Captains, Department of the Air Force Civilian (DAFC) equivalents and International Officers. It fulfills the ...

, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama *1975

Air Command and Staff College The Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) is located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama and is the United States Air Force's intermediate-level Professional Military Education (PME) school. It is a subordinate command of the Air Un ...

, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama *1985

Air War College The Air War College (AWC) is the senior Professional Military Education (PME) school of the U.S. Air Force. A part of the United States Air Force's Air University (United States Air Force), Air University, AWC emphasizes the employment of air, ...

, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama *1990

National War College In the United States, the National War College (NWC) is a school within the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National ...

, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. *1991 Program for Senior Officials in National Security, Harvard University,

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Military assignments

*April 1969 - May 1970, student, undergraduate pilot training, Reese Air Force Base, Texas *May 1970 - January 1971, student, F-102 interceptor pilot training, Perrin Air Force Base, Texas *January 1971 - March 1973, F-106 Pilot, 94th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan *March 1973 - February 1975, F-106 Instructor Pilot and Air National Guard Adviser, 191st Fighter Interceptor Group, Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan *February 1975 - October 1975, F-4D/E Pilot, 31st Tactical Fighter Wing,

Homestead Air Force Base, Florida Homestead Air Reserve Base (Homestead ARB), previously known as Homestead Air Force Base (Homestead AFB) is located in Miami–Dade County, Florida, to the northeast of the city of Homestead. It is home to the 482nd Fighter Wing (482 FW) of t ...

*October 1975 - December 1975, F-4D/E Pilot,

4th Tactical Fighter Wing The 4th Fighter Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command's Fifteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, where it is also the host unit. The wing is one of two Air Force ...

, Udon Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand *December 1975 - October 1976, F-4D/E Pilot, Wing Weapons and Tactics Officer, 12th Tactical Fighter Squadron,

Kadena Air Base, Japan (IATA: DNA, ICAO: RODN) is a United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is often referred to as the "Keystone of the Pacific" because of its highly strategic locat ...

*October 1976 - April 1979, F-5E Instructor Pilot, Flight Commander, Chief of Academics and Detachment Commander, 64th and 65th Aggressor Squadrons,

Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in " Military Ope ...

*April 1979 - November 1981, Advanced Air-to-Air Tactics Test and Training Mission Project Pilot, Section Chief for Special Projects, Flight Commander and Assistant Operations Officer, 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada *November 1981 - April 1984, Action Officer and Program Element Monitor, Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Operations, Special Projects Office, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. *July 1984 - August 1985, Deputy Assistant Director for Special Projects, Washington, D.C. *August 1985 - August 1987, A-7D/F-117A Pilot, Assistant Deputy Commander for Operations, 4450th Tactical Group,

Tonopah Test Range, Nevada The Tonopah Test Range (TTR, also designated as Area 52) is a highly classified, restricted military installation of the United States Department of Defense, and United States Department of Energy (nuclear stockpile stewardship) located about ...

*August 1987 - August 1989, Director of Advanced Programs, Headquarters Tactical Air Command,

Langley Air Force Base, Virginia Langley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Hampton, Virginia, adjacent to Newport News. It was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the entry of the United States into World War I in April 19 ...

*August 1989 - June 1990, student, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. *June 1990 - March 1991, Commander, 24th Composite Wing,

Howard Air Force Base, Panama Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for i ...

*July 1991 - June 1993, Commander,

1st Fighter Wing The 1st Fighter Wing (1 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Fifteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Langley Air Force Base, VA. where it is a tenant unit, being supported by the 633d Air Base Wing. Its ...

, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia *June 1993 - August 1994, Commander, 366th Composite Wing,

Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho Mountain Home Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation in the western United States. Located in southwestern Idaho in Elmore County, the base is southwest of Mountain Home, which is southeast of Boise via Interstate ...

*August 1994 - May 1996, Director of Operational Requirements, Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. *May 1996 - December 1997, Director for Force Structure, Resources and Assessment, J-8, the Joint Staff, Washington, D.C. *December 1997 – July 1998, Commander, Alaskan Command, 11th Air Force, and Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska

Flight Information

*Rating: Command pilot *Flight hours: More than 4,100 *Aircraft flown:

F-15 The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force (USAF) selected McDonnell Douglas's des ...

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it e ...

F-117 The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is an officially retired American single-seat, subsonic, Twinjet, twin-engined, stealth aircraft, stealth attack aircraft developed by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works division and operated ...

, A-7, F-4, F-5,

F-102 The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger is an interceptor aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Convair. A member of the Century Series, the F-102 was the first operational supersonic interceptor and delta-wing fighter op ...

F-106 The Convair F-106 Delta Dart is an all-weather interceptor aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Convair. The F-106 was designed in response to the 1954 interceptor program. Envisioned as an imagined "Ultimate Int ...

, OA-37,

B-1B The Rockwell B-1 Lancer is a supersonic variable-sweep wing, heavy bomber used by the United States Air Force. It has been nicknamed the "Bone" (from "B-One"). , it is one of the United States Air Force's three strategic bombers, along with th ...

KC-135R The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling tanker aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave ...

X-29 The Grumman X-29 is an American experimental aircraft that tested a forward-swept wing, canard control surfaces, and other novel aircraft technologies. Funded by NASA, the United States Air Force and DARPA, the X-29 was developed by Grumman, a ...

MiG-17 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 was license-built in China as the Shenyang J-5 an ...

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames in ...

MiG-23 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generation jet fighter, alongside similar Soviet aircra ...

Davies, Steve. Red Eagles: America's Secret MiGs. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011. . Pg. 381 and others

Major awards and decorations

Defense Distinguished Service Medal ribbon

Defense Distinguished Service Medal The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to the ...

Air Force Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force and is presented to airmen and guardians to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritorious service to the United S ...

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: Singapore *Pingat Jasa Gemilang, or Meritorious Services Me ...

with three oak leaf clusters * Air Medal ribbon

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

Air Force Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

with two oak leaf clusters * Joint Meritorious Unit Award-3d

Joint Meritorious Unit Award The Joint Meritorious Unit Award (JMUA) is a US military award that was established on June 4, 1981, by Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and was implemented by Department of Defense Directive 1348.27 dated July 22, 1982. The Joint Meritor ...

with oak leaf cluster * Outstanding Unit ribbon

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and was the first independent Air Force ...

with two oak leaf clusters

Effective dates of promotion

* Second Lieutenant March 31, 1969 *

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

September 30, 1970 *

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

March 30, 1972 *

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

September 1, 1979 * Lieutenant Colonel December 1, 1982 *

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

April 1, 1988 * Brigadier General July 1, 1993 * Major General September 1, 1995 *

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

September 6, 1996

References

*
Defense Link--Promotion to Lieutenant General
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCloud, David J. 1945 births 1998 deaths Accidental deaths in Alaska Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States United States Air Force generals Recipients of the Legion of Merit Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Harvard Kennedy School alumni Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal People from Sun Valley, Los Angeles Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1998