Lt. Gen. Royal Bertram Allison is the assistant to the chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, for Strategic Arms Negotiations. Additionally, he has been designated by presidential announcement as the principal military member on the U.S. delegation for Strategic Arms Limitations Talks with the Soviet Union.
General Allison was born in Harlan, Ore., in 1919. He graduated from high school in Portland, Ore., and studied civil engineering at Oregon State College. He entered the Army Air Corps from Oregon State College in July 1941 and received his pilot wings and commission as a second lieutenant at the Air Corps Advanced Flying School, Stockton Field, Calif., in February 1942.
After graduation from pilot training he was assigned as a flying instructor at the Air Corps Advanced Flying School, Turner Field, Albany, Ga. In December 1942 he was assigned to Columbia Army Air Base, S.C., for tactical and combat training in B-25 aircraft. In April 1943 he joined the 310th Bombardment Group of the Twelfth Air Force in North Africa and remained with the group until the end of World War II. During this period, he flew 90 combat missions in B-25 aircraft and participated in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations campaigns in Sicily, Sardinia, Italy, Corsica and Southern France.
In July 1945 he returned to the United States from Italy and was assigned as a student to the Command and General Staff School, Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Upon completion of school, he was assigned to March Field, Calif., where he served as a squadron commander and as deputy assistant chief of staff, A-3, for Twelfth Air Force.
General Allison was ordered to Headquarters U.S. Air Force for duty in the Directorate of Plans and Operations in July 1948. He was transferred to Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe in the fall of 1950 and served in various staff positions in the Directorate of Plans and as a member of a team of officers which negotiated for United States air bases in Morocco. In August 1952 he was assigned as chief of the Policy Branch, J-3 Division, Headquarters U.S. European Command.
In October 1954 General Allison returned to the United States for duty as assistant deputy chief of staff, personnel, Air Training Command at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. A year and a half later, he was assigned as commander of the 3615th Flying Training Group, Craig Air Force Base, Ala., which had a mission of training flying instructors in jet aircraft and providing transition training for pilots from conventional to jet aircraft. Subsequently, he served as executive officer of the 3615th Flying Training Wing at Craig Air Force Base.
In 1958 General Allison was ordered to Headquarters U.S. Air Force for duty as assistant for National Security Council affairs, Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Programs. In June 1959 he was assigned to duty as executive officer to General Thomas D. White, chief of staff of the Air Force and served in that capacity until General White's retirement in June 1961.
He was again assigned to Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe as director of plans, in July 1961, and after serving in that position for two years, he became assistant deputy chief of staff, operations. In August 1964 he became deputy chairman for the chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Special Studies Group, in Washington, D.C. The Special Studies Group conducts detailed analyses and conceptual studies for the Joint Chiefs of Staff on strategic offensive and defensive forces, general purpose tactical forces, tactical nuclear forces and on other specified subjects.
In June 1967 he assumed the duties of deputy chief of staff for plans and operations for commander in chief, Pacific, Hawaii. In July 1968 he was assigned additional duties as assistant to the chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, for Strategic Arms Negotiations, and in July 1969 he returned to the United States to assume these duties with the chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, on a full-time basis. He has additional duties as principal military adviser on U.S. Government's Strategic Arms Limitations Talks negotiating team.
General Allison is a command pilot. His military decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal (Air Force Design), Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Soldier's Medal, Air Medal with 13 oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Metal with oak leaf cluster and French Croix de Guerre with palm.
(Current as of Nov. 15, 1969)