Michael A. Nelson (October 8, 1937 – October 8, 2024) was a lieutenant general in the United States Air Force (USAF). He flew 100 missions over North Vietnam, collected 3500+ hours in fighter aircraft, and held command five times, including over the 9th Air Force and

Operation Southern Watch Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from August 1992 to March 2003. United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of moni ...

. He was the 20th Deputy Chief of Staff of Plans and Operations. After his military career, he was the president of the Air Force Historical Foundation and The Retired Officer's Association (now called the

Military Officers Association of America The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) is a professional association of United States military officers. It is a nonprofit organization that advocates for a strong national defense, but is politically nonpartisan. The association ...

, a change he ushered in).

Early life and education

Nelson was born in

East Los Angeles, California East Los Angeles (), or East L.A., is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) situated within Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, ...

, on October 8, 1937. He moved to

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, and graduated from Alamo Heights Senior High School in 1955. * Nelson earned his bachelor's degree in international relations in 1959 from

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 ...

. He was a member of the

Delta Upsilon Delta Upsilon (), commonly known as DU, is a collegiate men's fraternity founded on November 4, 1834, at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is the sixth-oldest, all-male, college Greek-letter organization founded in North America ...

fraternity. * He earned a master's degree in comparative politics from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

in 1969. * He earned another master's degree from the

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 ...

in 1976. * He was also educated at the

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 ...

and in multiple fighter jets.

Career

Nelson was commissioned through the

Reserve Officer Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

in June 1959. As a fighter pilot, he flew 100 combat missions in the F-105 over North Vietnam as a part of

Operation Rolling Thunder Operation Rolling Thunder was a gradual and sustained aerial bombardment campaign conducted by the United States (U.S.) 2nd Air Division (later Seventh Air Force), U.S. Navy, and Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) against North Vietnam from 2 ...

. He was one of the

Wild Weasel Wild Weasel is a code name given by the United States Air Force (USAF) to any aircraft equipped with anti-radiation missiles and used to suppress enemy air defenses by destroying their radar and surface-to-air missile (SAM) installations.Hew ...

s, which meant his aircraft was fitted with anti-radiation missiles and tasked with suppression of enemy air defenses. He also collected over 3500+ hours in the various aircraft he flew: the F-100, F-105, A-7, F-4, F-15, and F-16. He held command five times at five different locations across his career and worked in the Pentagon multiple times, including as the Deputy Chief of Staff of Plans and Operations. As part of being the commander of the 9th Air Force and CENTAF, he also oversaw

. Operation Southern Watch monitored southern Iraq. He retired in August 1994. In retirement, he became the president of The Retired Officers Association (TROA) and served from 1995 to 2002. He worked with Congress to increase active duty pay raises, repeal dual-compensation restrictions and the REDUX retirement system, and enact

TRICARE Tricare (styled TRICARE) is a health care program of the United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the fede ...

Senior Pharmacy and TRICARE For Life. As well as change the name of TROA to the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), Nelson helped redesign The Retired Officer Magazine, launch its website, begin hosting career fairs, and formed the Member Service Center.

Personal life and death

Nelson married Barbie Wigdale in 1962 and had four children with her. They remained married until her death in 2022. Nelson died in Virginia on October 8, 2024, at the age of 87.

Awards

Source:

Assignments

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Michael A. 1937 births 2024 deaths United States Air Force generals Lieutenant generals People from East Los Angeles, California Military personnel from Los Angeles Alamo Heights High School alumni Stanford University alumni University of Arizona alumni National War College alumni Air Command and Staff College alumni Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Delta Upsilon members