LIEUTENANT GENERAL EDWARD L. TIXIER Lieutenant General Edward L. Tixier (pronounced T-C-A) is commander, U.S. Forces, Japan, and 5th Air Force, with headquarters at Yokota Air Base, Japan. As commander of U.S. Forces, Japan, he is the senior U.S. military representative in Japan. As commander of 5th Air Force, he commands Air Force units in Japan and the Republic of Korea. General Tixier was born in 1929, in Clayton, N.M., and graduated from Albuquerque (N.M.) High School in 1947. He attended the University of New Mexico for one year, the U.S. Military Academy from 1948 to 1951, and graduated from the University of New Mexico in 1953 with a bachelor's degree in geology. He received a master's degree in political science from Auburn (Ala.) University in 1971. The general completed Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., by correspondence, in 1965; U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., in 1967; and Air War College, also at Maxwell, in 1971. He was commissioned in the U.S. Air Force as a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the University of New Mexico. The general entered flight training at Stallings Air Force Base, Kingston, N.C., in January 1953 and graduated at Reese Air Force Base, Texas, in February 1954. His next assignment was to the 3535th Training Wing, Mather Air Force Base, Calif., where he served as a mission pilot and later served as a member of the Standardization and Evaluation Section. From April 1956 to July 1960, General Tixier was assigned as a pilot to the U.S. Air Force Academy's 7625th Operations Squadron at Lowry Air Force Base, Colo. He then transferred to the 21st Troop Carrier Squadron, Detachment 1, 315th Air Division at Naha Air Base, Okinawa, as a mission pilot and as chief of standardization and evaluation. In June 1963 he became assistant professor of air science and commandant of cadets at the University of Arizona in Tucson. The general attended the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College from August 1966 to June 1967. Following graduation he completed F-4 training with the 15th Tactical Fighter Wing at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. In January 1968 he went to Cam Ranh Bay Air Base, Republic of Vietnam, as flight commander in the 557th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 12th Tactical Fighter Wing. Joining the 4453rd Combat Crew Training Wing at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., in December 1968 General Tixier was an original member of Tactical Air Command's newly formed F-4 instructor school. He reported to Tactical Air Command headquarters at Langley Air Force Base, Va., in November 1969 as a member of the "TAC-85" study group which was responsible for forecasting tactical Air Forces requirements for the mid-80s. He entered the Air War College in July 1970 and after graduation in June 1971, General Tixier served as an action officer in the Pacific Division, J-3, Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, D.C., and later as branch chief in the Atlantic/Southern/Alaskan Readiness Division. In August 1974 he was assigned as vice commander of Alaskan Air Command's 21st Composite Wing at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, and in July 1975 he took command of the wing. From May 1977 to July 1978, the general served as executive assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, D.C. He was named commander of the 20th North American Air Defense Command Region and 20th Air Division at Fort Lee Air Force Station, Va., in July 1978. In January 1979 he assumed the additional responsibilities as commander of the 20th Aerospace Defense Command Region. Transferring to Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas, in May 1980, General Tixier was assigned as vice commander of 12th Air Force. In September 1981 he became chief of the Office of Military Cooperation, Cairo, Egypt, where he was responsible for the U.S. security assistance program in Egypt. He returned to Washington, D.C., as deputy assistant secretary of defense for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs in June 1983. He assumed his present duties in July 1984. General Tixier is a command pilot with more than 9,000 flying hours. His military decorations and awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster, Air Medal with 12 oak leaf clusters and Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters. He was promoted to lieutenant general July 18, 1984, with same date of rank. (Current as of December 1984)