BRIGADIER GENERAL LOUIS W. LASALLE

Brigadier General Louis W. LaSalle is deputy chief of staff, personnel, Headquarters Aerospace Defense Command, Ent Air Force Base, Colo. In this position he advises the ADC commander on all personnel matters, and is responsible for development and implementation of personnel policies, plans and automated systems.

General LaSalle was born in 1920, in Louisville, Colo. He grew up in Wyoming and attended the University of Wyoming where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1963.

General LaSalle entered military service as an aviation cadet in 1942, receiving his basic and advanced pilot training in Georgia and Alabama. He received his pilot wings and commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps in May 1943. His first assignment was as a flying instructor in BT-13 and AT-6 aircraft at Cochran Field, Macon, Ga. In January 1945, he was transferred to Craig Field, Ala., for P-40 transition training and in April of that year moved to Key Field, Miss., as a P-51 pilot in the 347th Army Air Forces Base Unit. He was discharged in October 1945.

General LaSalle returned to active duty in 1948 and after graduating from the Air Traffic and Control School, Washington, D.C., he served as an air traffic service officer and later air traffic controller with units at Fassberg and Frankfurt, Germany, in support of the Berlin Airlift.

He returned to the United States in 1951 as an aircraft controller with the 666th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, Mill Valley, Calif. Following an extended period of temporary duty at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., he returned to California with assignment to the 28th Air Division, Hamilton Air Force Base, Calif., first as an aircraft controller and later as chief, Control Center.

In 1953 he moved to Headquarters Air Defense Command, Ent Air Force Base, Colo., as an air traffic control officer and then identification and air traffic plans officer, Operations and Training Division, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations.

General LaSalle returned to Hamilton in February 1956 as flight commander, 83d Fighter Interceptor Squadron, and later as chief, Operations and Training Division, Western Air Defense Force. In July 1957, he became director, Civil Air Defense Force, and then moved to the position of Aircraft Control and Warning Officer, AC&W Branch, Western Air Defense Force at Hamilton.

In 1958 General LaSalle was assigned as an exchange officer with the Royal Canadian Air Force, serving as an interceptor controller with the 5th Air Division, Vancouver, British Columbia.

He returned to Headquarters Air Defense Command in January 1960 as chief, Combat and Operations Assignment Branch and later chief, Rated Officer Manning Branch. In June 1964 he was transferred to Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C., and served as executive officer for colonel's group, Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel.

In August 1966, General LaSalle became assistant deputy commander for operations in the 33d Tactical Fighter Wing, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and in December of the following year went to Vietnam to serve as assistant deputy commander for operations and later deputy commander for operations in the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, Da Nang Air Base.

General LaSalle returned to the United States in December 1968 and became deputy director, Personnel Resources and Distribution, Military Personnel Center, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, prior to assuming his current assignment as deputy chief of staff, Personnel, Headquarters Aerospace Defense Command, Ent Air Force Base, Colo., in June 1970.

He is a command pilot. His decorations and awards include the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with 10 oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with gold star and the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal, First Class.

He was promoted to the grade of brigadier general effective Aug. 1, 1972, with date of rank July 31, 1972.

(Current as of Oct. 15, 1972)