Maj. Gen. William A. Cohen is mobilization assistant to the Commander, Air Education and Training Command, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. He is the senior Reservist and senior officer in the command advising on Reserve matters. He is responsible for providing leadership to the AETC Reserve program at locations around the country. This includes the development and direction of Reserve initiatives; procurement and training of Reserve personnel in support of the command's active-duty force; and the productive and efficient utilization of Air Force Reservists assigned to the command in peacetime, and their readiness for mobilization in time of war or national emergency.
General Cohen entered the Air Force in 1959 as a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and was previously a distinguished graduate of the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Wentworth Military Academy, Lexington, Mo. He is a master navigator and has flown more than 3,500 hours in bombardment, attack and transport aircraft. He flew 174 combat missions in special operations, attack aircraft in Vietnam and additional combat missions in the Middle East during the Yom Kippur War as a member of the Israeli air force.
EDUCATION
1959 Bachelor's degree, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.
1967 Master's degree in research and development management, University of Chicago
1978 Master's degree in management, Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, Calif.
1979 Doctorate in executive management, Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, Calif.
1989 Distinguished graduate, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. July 1955 - June 1959, cadet, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.
2. July 1959 - May 1960, student, navigator training, James T. Connally AFB, Texas
3. June 1960 - November 1960, student, advanced navigator-radar bombing, Mather AFB, Calif.
4. December 1960 - January 1961, student, B-52 combat crew training, Castle AFB, Calif.
5. January 1961 - April 1961, student, B-52 combat crew training, Walker AFB, N.M.
6. May 1961 - March 1965, B-52E navigator, navigator-bombardier, instructor and lead crew, 26th Bomb Squadron, Altus AFB, Okla.
7. March 1965 - July 1966, B-52E navigator standardization evaluator and flight examiner, Standardization Division, 11th Strategic Aerospace Wing, Altus AFB, Okla.
8. July 1966 - September 1967, student, Air Force Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, Ill.
9. October 1967 - December 1968, student, A-26 combat crew training, England AFB, La.
10. January 1968 - January 1969, A-26 navigator, 609th Air Commando Squadron, Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai AFB, Thailand
11. January 1969 - June 1970, program manager, Life Support Program Office, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
12. June 1970 - October 1978, inactive
13. October 1978 - November 1978, student, C-141 crew training, Altus AFB, Okla.
14. November 1978 - September 1979, C-141 navigator, 445th Military Airlift Wing, Norton AFB, Calif.
15. September 1979 - October 1984, Staff Development Engineering Manager, Defense Support Systems Program Office, Los Angeles Air Force Station, Calif.
16. November 1984 - June 1986, staff developmental engineer, Commander's Action Group, Los Angeles AFB, Calif.
17. June 1986 - June 1988, individual mobilization augmentee to the Deputy Commander for Satellite Systems, Los Angeles AFB, Calif.
18. June 1988 - June 1989, student, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
19. June 1989 - January 1990, individual mobilization augmentee to the Deputy Commander for Communications, Operations Support and Control Systems, Los Angeles AFB, Calif.
20. January 1990 - April 1991, individual mobilization augmentee to the Commander, Phillips Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
21. April 1991 - June 1992, mobilization assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff, Engineering and Technical Management, Air Force Systems Command, Andrews AFB, Md.
22. June 1992 - September 1992, mobilization assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Engineering and Technical Management, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
23. September 1992 - July 1994, mobilization assistant to the Commander, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, Calif.
24. July 1994 - present, mobilization assistant to the Commander, Air Education and Training Command, Randolph AFB, Texas
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Master navigator (navigator wings from United States and Israel )
Flight hours: More than 3,500
Aircraft flown: 8-52, A-26, A-1 , F-100, C-141, C-97 and T-29
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Distinguished Flying Cross with three oak leaf clusters
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with two silver and one bronze oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Achievement Medal
Vietnam Service Medal with four bronze stars
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm and bronze star
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
Author of 33 books and more than 80 articles published in 12 languages
Institute director, former department chairman, full professor, California State University, Los Angeles
Former president, West Point Society of Los Angeles
Biography in Who's Who in America
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant June 3, 1959
First Lieutenant Dec. 3, 1960
Captain Dec. 3, 1963
Major (Spot) June 7, 1965
Captain Oct .17, 1978
Major April 10, 1981
Lieutenant Colonel Sept. 30, 1985
Colonel Aug. 1, 1989
Brigadier General Aug. 12, 1992
Major General Feb. 9, 1994
(Current as of February 1997)