Commanders carry legacy to future

  • Published
  • By History Office
  • 31st Fighter Wing
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy (AFPN) --  A long list of distinguished commanders, including the Air Force's first jet ace, has led the 31st Fighter Wing in its 60-year history. Col. James Jabara, who became a jet ace in 1951, led the wing in 1965.


Commanders and Dates Assigned
Col. William L. Lee, Nov. 20, 1947
Col. Eugene H. Snavely, Aug. 16, 1948
Col. Alvan C. Gillem II, circa Dec. 26, 1950
Col. Eugene H. Snavely, March 10, 1951
Col. Carl W. Stapleton, March 14, 1951
Lt. Col. Charles W. Lenfrost, April 9, 1951
Col. David C. Schilling, May 1, 1951
Lt. Col. Charles W. Lenfrost, circa May 27, 1951
Lt. Col. William D. Dunham, June 22, 1951
Lt. Col. Gerald W. Johnson, July 1, 1951
Col. David C. Schilling, July 20, 1951
Col. Robert P. Montgomery, May 16, 1955
Col. Gordon M. Graham, July 15, 1955
Col. Hubert Zemke, Aug. 1, 1955
Col. Gordon M. Graham, Oct. 1955
Lt. Col. Harold L. Williams, Feb. 1959
Col. Robert W. Stephens, March 15, 1959
Col. Herbert E. Ross, Aug. 26, 1959
Col. William D. Ritchie, Oct. 5, 1959
Col. Jack R. Brown, Oct. 2, 1961
Col. Frank J. Collins, Oct. 14, 1961
Col. William E. Bethea, March 9, 1964
Col. Franklin A. Nichols, March 16, 1964
Col. Ernest T. Burnett, May 30, 1965
Col. James Jabara, June 17, 1965
Col. Raymond C. Lee Jr., Nov. 17, 1966
Col. Warren R. Lewis, Nov. 28, 1966
Col. William J. Evans, Dec. 7, 1967
Col. Abner M. Aust Jr., May 3, 1968
Col. Cuthbert A. Pattillo, Feb. 8, 1969
Col. William B. Yancey Jr., Aug. 8, 1969
Col. Gilbert D. Hereth, June 15, 1970
Brig. Gen. Wiltz P. Segura, Oct. 15, 1970
Col. David E. Rippetoe Jr., May 28, 1971
Col. Alonzo J. Walter, Jr., June 16, 1972
Col. Dudley J. Foster, March 1, 1974
Col. Walter J. Bacon II, March 7, 1975
Col. Samuel R. Johnson, June 14, 1976
Col. William A. Gorton, Aug. 31, 1978
Col. Eugene H. Fischer, Jan. 2, 1980
Col. Robert H. Baxter, Jan. 5, 1982
Col. Billy G. McCoy, June 20, 1984
Col. Charles L. Hehn, June 27, 1985
Col. H. Hale Burr, Jr., Sept. 5, 1986
Col. Walter T. West, April 28, 1988
Col. Stephen B. Plummer, Aug. 1, 1991
Col. William T. Rudd, Nov. 6, 1992
Col. John H. Campbell, April 1, 1994
Brig. Gen. Charles F. Wald, May 24, 1995
Brig. Gen. Timothy A. Peppe, July 3, 1997
Brig. Gen. Daniel P. Leaf, Nov. 30, 1998
Brig. Gen. Daniel J. Darnell, Jan. 21, 2000
Brig. Gen. Donald J. Hoffman, May 25, 2001
Brig. Gen. R. Michael Worden, Oct. 9, 2002
Brig. Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, June 18, 2004
Brig. Gen. Robert Yates, June 1, 2005
Brig. Gen. Craig A. Franklin, June 1, 2007 
Col. Charles Q. Brown Jr.  June 9, 2009