Major General Schuyler Bissell is assistant chief of staff for intelligence, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
General Bissell was born in Lumberton, Miss., in 1931, and graduated from Laurel Gardiner High School, Laurel, Miss., in 1948. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1952 and a master of science degree in business administration from The George Washington University in 1966. He was a distinguished graduate of Air Command and Staff College in 1966 and graduated from the Army War College in 1971.
The general enlisted in the Air Force in June 1952 and entered the aviation cadet training program in September of that year. He was named a distinguished graduate and awarded his radar observer rating and a commission as a second lieutenant in April 1953. Operational assignments with the Air Defense Command followed at Goose Air Base, Labrador, Canada, and Paine Air Force Base, Wash.
He entered pilot training at Moore Air Base, Texas, in October 1957 and received his pilot wings one year later at Greenville Air Force Base, Miss. General Bissell next attended basic instructor school at Craig Air Force Base, Ala., and then returned to Greenville as an instructor pilot. In November 1960 he transferred in the same capacity to Williams Air Force Base, Ariz. While assigned to the Air Training Command at Greenville and Williams Air Force bases, he flew T-33s, T-37s and T-38s, and served as a flight commander and squadron evaluation section chief.
General Bissell entered the Air Command and Staff College in August 1965. He graduated in August 1966 and was assigned to MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., where he received upgrade training in F-4C's. He then joined the 497th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand. While there General Bissell flew 119 combat missions, totaling 187 hours in F-4C's over North Vietnam.
He returned to the United States in September 1967, serving as an F-4C instructor pilot and flight commander in the 430th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Homestead Air Force Base, Fla. From September 1968 to July 1970 General Bissell was an action officer in the Directorate of Operations at Air Force headquarters and also was a member of the Operations Review Group that evaluated air operations in the Republic of Vietnam. Acting in support of a Corona Harvest study, the general was a member of the group that examined strategy for the employment of airpower in Southeast Asia. After completing the Army War College in June 1971, he was assigned to Air Training Command at Vance Air Force Base, Okla. While there General Bissell served as base commander, deputy commander for operations and commander of the 71st Flying Training Wing.
In July 1974 he transferred to Reese Air Force Base, Texas, as commander of the 64th Flying Training Wing. He remained at that post until he departed for Washington, D.C., in May 1975 to begin training for an attache assignment. He served as United States defense attache and air attache to Israel from August 1976 to August 1979.
The general then became deputy assistant chief of staff for intelligence, Combined Forces Command, and assistant chief of staff, intelligence, for United States Forces Korea. In July 1981 General Bissell was named deputy assistant chief of staff for intelligence at Air Force headquarters and became deputy director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C., in January 1983. He assumed his present duties in October 1985.
A command pilot with nearly 5,500 flying hours, General Bissell's military decorations and awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters, Meritorious Service Medal and Air Medal with nine oak leaf clusters.
He was promoted to major general March 1, 1983, with date of rank July 1, 1979.
(Current as of November 1987)