James Wesley Stansberry (December 29, 1927June 28, 2010) was a

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 ...

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 ...

and commander of the

Electronic Systems Division The Electronic Systems Center was a product center of Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) headquartered at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts. Its mission was to develop and acquire command and control, communications, computer, and intellige ...

Air Force Systems Command The Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. It was established in April 1951, being split off from Air Materiel Command. The mission of AFSC was Research and Development for new weapons systems. AFS ...

Hanscom Air Force Base Hanscom Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base located predominantly within Bedford, Massachusetts, with portions extending into the adjoining towns of Lincoln, Concord and Lexington. The facility is adjacent to Hanscom Field ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Early life and education

Stansberry was born on December 29, 1927, in

Grafton, West Virginia Grafton is a city in Taylor County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 4,729 at the 2020 census. Located along the Tygart Valley River, it originally developed as a junction point for the Baltimore and Ohio ...

, and graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

, in 1949. He earned his

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

degree, with distinction, in 1956 from the Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In conjunction with his master's studies, he was the recipient of the Mervin E. Gross and the Wall Street Journal Awards presented annually to the top graduate. He is also a graduate of the Armed Forces Staff College at Norfolk, Va.

Career

Stansberry began his military career by enlisting as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

in 1945. Following graduation from the

, he was commissioned in the Air Force and served from September 1950 through December 1954 in the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project at Albuquerque, New Mexico. After graduation from the Air Force Institute of Technology in September 1956, he was assigned to the Northern Air Materiel Area, Pacific, with duty as chief of production at the Kawasaki-Gifu Contract Facility at Gifu, Japan. Stansberry was assigned as assistant professor of air science at Michigan College of Mining and Technology from April 1959 to August 1961. He then transferred to the Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., and served on the Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps headquarters staff for two years. Following graduation from the Armed Forces Staff College in January 1964, Stansberry was ordered to the Air Force Directorate of Nuclear Safety, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. In July 1968 he transferred to the Office of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense (Atomic Energy) in Washington, D.C. This tour of duty culminated in his appointment as deputy assistant to the secretary of Defense (atomic energy), where he served until July 1971. Stansberry was assigned to Air Force Systems Command headquarters, Andrews Air Force Base, Md., as a division chief and later as executive secretary for Project Acquisition Cost Evaluation, from August 1971 to August 1973. He then returned to the Pentagon and served on the Air Staff as deputy director of procurement policy. In August 1974 he was appointed deputy to the deputy assistant secretary of defense (procurement). While there he conducted a major Department of Defense study of defense contract profitability (Profit 176) which resulted in major changes to Department of Defense profit policy. From February 1977 to January 1981, he was deputy chief of staff for contracting and manufacturing, Air Force Systems Command. He assumed his last command in February 1981. He was promoted to Lieutenant General March 10, 1981, with same date of rank. After 39 years of service, Stansberry retired on August 1, 1984.

Later life and death

Stansberry died on June 28, 2010, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He was preceded in death by his wife, Audrey Mildred Heinz; and brothers, David and William. He leaves behind daughters, Norah Stansberry of Spokane, WA, Amy and husband Rick Goodhand of Arnold, MD and Lisa and Husband Tony Porten of Chesapeake, VA. He is known as "Bapa" to his grandchildren, Adrian, Mason, Nate, Megan, Jimmy, Fitz, Cayla and Maya; and his great grandchildren, Bradan, Alison, Gunnar James, and Maverick.

Awards and decorations

*Mervin E. Gross Award - 1956 *Wall Street Journals Award - 1956 *Engineer of the Year, San Fernando Valley Engineers Council - 1979 *United States Air Force

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Or ...

- September 2, 1984 *Distinguished Alumni,

Air Force Institute of Technology The Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) is a postgraduate institution and provider of professional and continuing education for the United States Armed Forces and is part of the United States Air Force. It is in Ohio at Wright-Patterson ...

- 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stansberry, James United States Air Force generals 1927 births Military personnel from Grafton, West Virginia United States Military Academy alumni Air Force Institute of Technology alumni Joint Forces Staff College alumni Recipients of the Order of the Sword (United States) 2010 deaths Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army soldiers People from Virginia Beach, Virginia