Brigadier General Raymond A. Shulstad is vice commander, Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. As such, he plays a key role in leading the Air Force's center of excellence for research, development and acquisition of aircraft and aeronautical equipment for the Air Force. ASC manages more than 250 programs, executes an annual budget of more than $20 billion, and employs more than 16,000 people.
General Shuistad was commissioned in the Air Force in 1966 as a distinguished graduate of the University of Alabama Reserve Officer Training Corps program. He is a nuclear weapon specialist having served in line and staff assignments ranging from laboratory research and development to high-level policy positions in the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. He is a scientist and engineer with a doctorate in nuclear engineering. Also, he is one of the Air Force's top acquisition managers and a graduate of the Defense Systems Management College's Program Managers Course. He is professionally certified at the top level of the program management career field and has held a number of key jobs in Air Force Materiel Command, including director of systems engineering, Aeronautical Systems Center, system program director, Aeronautical Equipment Systems Program Office, ASC; commander of the Rome Air Development Center, Griffiss Air Force Base, N.Y., now one of the Air Force's four super labs; and vice commander of the Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., the Air Force's center of excellence for the acquisition of command, control, communications and intelligence systems.
EDUCATION
1966 Bachelor of science degree in chemistry, University of Alabama
1968 Master of science degree in nuclear engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
1976 Doctorate in nuclear engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
1985 Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
1989 Program Manager's Course, Defense Systems Management College, Fort Beivoir, Va.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 1966 - June 1968, graduate student, AFIT, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
2. July 1968 - May 1972, chief of Laboratory Radiochemistry Unit, 1155th Technical Operations Squadron, McClellan Air Force Base, Calif.
3. June 1972 - May 1974, doctorate student, AFIT, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
4. June 1974 - June 1977, staff scientist, Air Force Weapons Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.
5. July 1977 - July 1980, nuclear weapons planning action officer, deputy chief of staff for plans and operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
6. August 1980 - July 1982, special assistant for research and development to the assistant secretary of defense (atomic energy), Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Washington, D.C.
7. July 1982 - July 1984, deputy director of projects and weapon integration and certification project manager, B-1B System Program Office, Aeronautical Systems Division, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
8. July 1984 - June 1985, senior fellow and Industrial College of the Armed Forces student, National Defense University; Washington, D.C.
9. July 1985 - April 1986, director of systems engineering, Aeronautical Systems Division, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
10. May 1986 - July 1988, assistant deputy commander for aeronautical equipment until September 1986; then program director, Aeronautical Equipment System Program Office, Aeronautical Systems Division, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
11. July 1988 - May 1990, commander, Rome Air Development Center, Griffiss Air Force Base, N.Y.
12. May 1990 - August 1991, assistant deputy chief of staff for requirements, Headquarters Air Force Systems Command, Andrews Air Force Base, Md.
13. August 1991 - July 1993, vice commander, Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.
14. July 1993 - present, vice commander, Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with oak leaf cluster
Air Fore Organizational Excellence Award with two oak leaf clusters
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
Authored book: Peace is My Profession: A Soldier's View of the Moral Dimension of U.S. Nuclear Policy, NDU Press, September 1986.
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant Jun 4, 1966
First Lieutenant Dec 4, 1967
Captain Jun 4, 1969
Major Dec 1, 1977
Lieutenant Colonel Oct 1, 1980
Colonel Nov 1, 1984
Brigadier General Oct 1, 1991
(Current as of March 2021)