General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong,

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

, Ret., (born 13 July 1945), formerly of

Williamson, West Virginia Williamson is a city in Mingo County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Tug Fork River. The population was 3,191 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Mingo County, and is the county's largest and most populous city. Willi ...

, is a former president of Mississippi State University. He served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

from April 1972 until retirement as general in February 2006.

Education

Foglesong earned the degrees BSc, MSc and PhD at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State Coll ...

in chemical engineering in 1968, 1969 and 1971 respectively. He holds an

honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad ho ...

in Strategic Intelligence, and is a Distinguished Alumnus of West Virginia University. He was selected by the West Virginia Education Alliance as a Graduate of Distinction, and was selected by the West Virginia Executive Magazine as the Patriot of the Year for 2005.

Air Force career

Foglesong attained the rank of four-star general in the

5 November 2001, retiring 1 February 2006 from active duty after 33 years of service. His last post was as Commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and of Allied Air Component Command Ramstein where the service's enlisted corps honored him with the

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 February 23, 1748, together with the ...

. General Foglesong commanded six times during his Air Force service including flying and maintenance units, a Numbered Air Force, and a Major Command. During his final command, General Foglesong continued his established model of using multiple "Combat" programs throughout his command to focus on military discipline and service standards including facilities maintenance, physical readiness, and leadership and mentoring. While a few Airman saw merit and value of these "Combat" Programs as a renewed emphasis on pride, espirit, and mission; most Airmen sounded their displeasure. Shortly after his retirement, his successor led an effort to reshape these programs begun under Foglesong, dropping two programs, eliminating the "Combat" moniker, and delegating responsibility for 10 of the programs to base and wing commanders.

Awards and decorations

After retirement

Foglesong was President of

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

from 2006 to 31 March 2008. Foglesong was the second retired general to hold the office of president at the university; Confederate

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) 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 ...

Stephen D. Lee Stephen Dill Lee (September 22, 1833 – May 28, 1908) was an American officer in the Confederate Army, politician and first president of Mississippi State University from 1880 to 1899. He served as lieutenant general of the Confederate ...

was the first. Foglesong tackled a number of competing internal and external agendas that he saw as undermining the school's purpose of delivering a quality education to its students. Under pressure from politicians, students and faculty, he resigned in March 2008. During his tenure enrollment rose 6% from 16,206 to 17,127 in 2008. He also oversaw a significant change to the school's facilitites and grounds involving removal of longstanding traditional landscaping including removal of daffodil bulbs which had been on the campus for decades. Much of this landscaping was seen as destructive and shortsighted in nature by students and faculty. Foglesong founded a scholarship program in West Virginia called the Appalachian Leadership and Educational Foundation in 2006. He helped to establish the Appalachian Leadership Honors Program at Mississippi State, which now goes by the name Montgomery Leadership Program in honor of former congressman

Sonny Montgomery Gillespie V. "Sonny" Montgomery (August 5, 1920 – May 12, 2006) was an American soldier and politician from Mississippi who served in the Mississippi Senate and U.S. House of Representatives from 1967 to 1997. He was also a retired major gene ...

in 2006. He has also served as a director of now defunct

Massey Energy Massey Energy Company was a coal extractor in the United States with substantial operations in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia. By revenue, it was the fourth largest producer of coal in the United States and the largest coal producer in Centr ...

, a major coal company which closed after flagrant safety violations during his tenure.

References

External links