Brigadier General Don M. Hartung is commander, Space and Missile Test Center, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. SAMTEC manages and conducts test and launch activities of Air Force space and ballistic missile systems, and operates the Department of Defense Western Test Range at Vandenberg, and the Eastern Test Range (Detachment 1, SAMTEC) with its headquarters at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. In addition to his responsibilities as SAMTEC commander, General Hartung also serves as deputy Department of Defense manager for Space Shuttle Support Operations.
General Hartung spent his early years in Tampa, Fla., where he completed his secondary education. He has a bachelor of science degree in aeronautics from Arizona State University, a bachelor of science in aeronautical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology, and a master of science in international affairs from The George Washington University. He is a graduate of the National War College, Class of 1968.
General Hartung was commissioned as a second lieutenant in February 1949 upon completion of pilot training. His early assignments were as a jet fighter pilot, including duty as a fighter gunnery instructor; a tour of 103 combat missions in the F-80 in Korea; and service as an advisor to an F-86F wing of the Chinese Air Force. He has served as a research and development manager in various assignments, including duty as a deputy test director on a test project involving F-4s in Southeast Asia, and in the system program office for the F-15 at the Aeronautical Systems Division, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. His first assignment associated with space and missile activities was in 1969 as Director of Space Defense for the North American Air Defense Command at Ent Air Force Base, Colo.
In August 1972, General Hartung was named vice commander, Air Force Eastern Test Range, Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. He served in this position for 21 months. He was subsequently assigned to Headquarters Air Force Logistics Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, as the assistant deputy chief of staff for acquisition logistics. In April 1975 he returned to Patrick Air Force Base as commander, Air Force Eastern Test Range, with additional duty as Department of Defense manager for Manned Space Flight Support Operations.
General Hartung is a command pilot with more than 5,000 flying hours, and wears the Senior Missileman Badge. His military decorations and awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters, and Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster. He also has been awarded the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Medal for Outstanding Leadership. He is an active member of the Daedalians, the Air Force Association, and the American Defense Preparedness Association, and is a member of the Board of Advisors to the Missile, Range, and Space Pioneers.
General Hartung was promoted to the grade of brigadier general July 1, 1975, with date of rank June 11, 1975.
(Current as of July 1977)