Brigadier General David M. Cornell is deputy chief of staff for engineering and services, Headquarters Air Force Logistics Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
General Cornell was born in 1934 in Elsinore, Calif. He was the second of four brothers who found careers in the Air Force. He attended Gross Valley (Calif.) High School and received an associate of arts degree in pre-engineering from Sierra College at Auburn, Calif., in 1954. He attended San Jose (Calif.) State University, from 1954 to 1956, and earned bachelor and master of science degrees in civil engineering from Arizona State University, Tempe, in 1964. General Cornell graduated from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., in 1976.
After enlisting in the Air Force in 1956, the general completed basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, and was assigned to the Special Weapons Technical School at Lowry Air Force Base, Colo. In July 1959 he entered Officer Candidate School at Lackland Air Force Base, and was commissioned in December of that year. His first commissioned assignment was as munitions officer for the U.S. Air Force Marksmanship School at Lackland. He was selected to complete his college work through the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1963, and transferred to Arizona State University. Following graduation in 1964, General Cornell was assigned to the 314th Civil Engineering Squadron at Sewart Air Force Base, Tenn. In 1966 he transferred to Takhli Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand, and served with the 355th Civil Engineering Squadron.
Following his Southeast Asia tour of duty, the general was assigned to Sandia Base, near Albuquerque, N.M., where he served as a staff civil engineer with the Field Command of the Defense Atomic Support Agency. In 1969 he was selected to participate in the Education With Industry program and spent one year with the architectural and engineering firm of Daniel, Mann, Johnson and Mendenhall of Los Angeles. When he returned from this special education program, General Cornell was assigned to the Pentagon, where he served as staff civil engineer and executive officer in the Directorate of Civil Engineering, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
After graduating from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in 1976, he was assigned to the 51st Composite Wing (Tactical), Osan Air Base, South Korea, as the base civil engineer. The general transferred to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., in August 1978 and served as base civil engineer and commander of the 2nd Civil Engineering Squadron. In 1980 he was assigned to Headquarters Military Airlift Command, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., first as assistant deputy chief of staff for engineering and services, and in November 1981 become deputy chief of staff for engineering and services. He assumed his present duties in March 1984.
General Cornell's military decorations and awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Joint Service Commendation Medal and the Air Force Commendation Medal. He is a registered professional engineer in the states of New Mexico, Illinois and Missouri.
He assumed the grade of brigadier general March 7, 1984.
(Current as of April 1984)