MAJOR GENERAL VICTOR R. HAUGEN

Major General Victor Raymond Haugen is the commandant of the Air Force Institute of Technology, (a component of Air University) located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Born in Kelowna, British Columbia, in 1912, he went to high school in nearby Penticton. He attended the University of Washington and graduated in 1934 with a bachelor of science in aeronautical engineering, and as a result of his ROTC training, a second lieutenant in the Coast Artillery (Reserve).

After graduation he enlisted as a flying cadet, U.S. Army Air Corps, and began flight training at Randolph Field, Texas. After he received his pilot's wings and aircraft observer rating at Kelly Field in June 1935, he was assigned as a flying cadet on active duty to the 12th Observation Squadron at Brooks Field, Texas. He soon became interested in rotary wing aircraft and flew an autogiro during its service test with the Cavalry School at Fort Riley, Kan., in 1938 and 1939. He now holds the rating of command pilot.

In 1940 after getting a degree of master of aeronautical engineering from New York University, Lieutenant Haugen was assigned to the Engineering Division, Air Materiel Command, at Wright Field. As chief of the Mechanical Branch, Aircraft Laboratory, he was in charge of developmental projects in aircraft wheels, brakes, tires, hydraulic and mechanical activating systems, and also contributed to the early beginnings of the helicopter. A year later he became project officer for light and medium bombardment aircraft, responsible for the development of several experimental aircraft in this class, including the well known A-26 (now called the B-26). At the time of his departure for the Southwest Pacific area early in 1945, Colonel Haugen was chief of the Aircraft Projects Section.

As deputy commander of the 307th Bomb Group, Colonel Haugen flew B-24s in the New Guinea-Borneo-Philippines area. When the war ended, he became base commander of Clark Field and helped set up the homeward flight of all available four-engine aircraft, known as Project Sunset. After the war, his assignments included: commander, 18th Fighter Group; chief of plans, 13th Air Force and chief of maintenance, Headquarters Far East Air Forces, in Tokyo.

In 1947 he returned to Washington, D. C. to help establish the Joint Research and Development Board, the forerunner of the present Directorate of Defense Research and Engineering. In 1949, Colonel Haugen attended the Air War College, and then joined the staff of the Director of Research and Development, Headquarters U.S. Air Force.

In June 1952, he was assigned to the Wright Air Development Center and served successively as the chief, Weapon Systems Division; Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations; Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander for Development. During this time he was promoted to brigadier general and was awarded the Legion of Merit for "outstanding leadership enabling the Air Force to make major technological advancements in its air weapons systems inventory." In August 1956, General Haugen became assistant deputy commander for weapons systems of ARDC and took command of Detachment 1, Headquarters ARDC, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as the director of systems management. In March 1958, he was promoted to major general.

General Haugen returned to Washington as the director of development planning, Deputy Chief of Staff/Development, Headquarters U.S. Air Force. Then in May 1960 he became the assistant deputy chief of staff, development, Headquarters U.S. Air Force.

Before joining AFIT, General Haugen spent three and a half years as chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group to the Federal Republic of Germany. In this capacity, he represented the secretary of defense at the seat of the West German Convention in Bonn and was concerned with development of bilateral U.S./German cooperative programs designed to enhance the capabilities of the recently reconstituted Bundeswehr. General Haugen assumed the position of commandant of AFIT Sept. 1, 1965.