BRIGADIER GENERAL RICHARD L. MEYER Brigadier General Richard L. Meyer is vice commander of 12th Air Force, with headquarters at Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas. General Meyer was born in 1933, in Centralia, Ill. He attended Columbia High School in Richland, Wash., and graduated from the Citadel, Charleston, S.C., in 1955 with bachelor of science degree in business administration. He completed the Armed Forces Staff College at Norfolk, Va., and the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. While attending the Air War College, he concurrently completed requirements for a master's degree in guidance and counseling from Troy (Ala.) State University. He received his commission through the Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps program and entered the Air Force in September 1955. His flying career began with primary pilot training at Bartow Air Base, Fla., flying T-6s. He advanced to basic pilot training at Webb Air Force Base, Texas, flying T-33s and graduated in October 1956. The general then attended flight lead-in training at Williams Air Force Base, Ariz., flying F-86s. He later moved to Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., where he received combat crew training in F-100 Super Sabres. In April 1957 General Meyer was assigned to the 55th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Royal Air Force Station Wethersfield, England, where he served as an assistant flight commander and then flight commander. Upon his return to the United States in May 1960, General Meyer was assigned to the 474th Tactical Fighter Wing, Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., serving as assistant chief of standardization and evaluation. General Meyer transferred to the first F-4C squadron in the Air Force, the 4453rd Combat Crew Training Squadron, at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., in January 1963 where he received transition training. The squadron expanded and was redesignated first as a group and later as the 4453rd Combat Crew Training Wing. In April 1964 the wing moved to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. Throughout his assignment with the wing, General Meyer served as chief of standardization and evaluation. In May 1965 General Meyer returned to Nellis Air Force Base as an instructor pilot for the U.S. Air Force Weapons School. He was sent on temporary duty to the Republic of Vietnam in September 1966 where he flew F-4 combat missions with various tactical fighter wings evaluating tactics used by Air Force units. He returned to Nellis in February 1967 as a test project supervisor with the 4525th Fighter Weapons Squadron and went back to the Republic of Vietnam in 1968, again on temporary duty, as a weapons school liaison officer to study the fighter tactics employed in Southeast Asia. From August 1969 to January 1970, he attended the Armed Forces Staff College. He was then assigned to Headquarters Tactical Air Command, Langley Air Force Base, Va., as an operations staff officer. During this tour of duty, he was chief of the Armament Division, Fighter Requirement Directorate. General Meyer was assigned to Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C., in the Directorate of Concepts and Doctrine, in September 1971. He completed the Air War College in August 1974 and then became vice commander of Detachment 10, The United States Logistic Group, Incirlik, Turkey. He took command of the detachment in March 1975. In August 1975 General Meyer returned to Langley Air Force Base as vice commander of the 1st Tactical Fighter Wing, the first operational F-15 wing in the Air Force. He took command of the 49th Tactical Fighter Wing, Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., in November 1977 and in February 1980 he became commander of the 831st Air Division at George Air Force Base, Calif. He assumed his present duties in August 1981. General Meyer is a command pilot with more than 4,000 hours flying time and 100 combat hours. His military decorations and awards include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters and Air Force Commendation Medal with four oak leaf clusters. He was promoted to brigadier general March 1, 1980, with date of rank Feb. 26, 1980. General Meyer's hometown is Scottsdale, Ariz. (Current as of February 1982)