Robert E. Huyser
Encyclopedia
Robert Ernest Huyser was a four star general in the United States Air Force
who served as Deputy Commander in Chief, United States European Command
(DCINCEUR) from 1975 to 1979; and as Commander in Chief, Military Airlift Command
(CINCMAC) from 1979 to 1981.
, where he graduated from Paonia High School. He later attended Modesto Junior College
at Modesto, California
, and
Ouachita College at Arkadelphia, Arkansas
.
During World War II he flew B-29 Superfortress
s in the Southwest Pacific area. In May 1945 he was assigned as a B-29 pilot at Clovis, New Mexico
. From August 1946 to May 1947, Huyser was an aircraft commander in the 307th Bombardment Wing, MacDill Field, Florida. He next become an aircraft commander in the 93rd Bombardment Wing at Castle Air Force Base
, California, and in 1950 was assigned to the wing staff as chief of training.
During the Korean War Huyser was assigned to the Far East Air Forces Bomber Command as chief, combat operations. During that period he flew combat missions in B-29s with the 98th Bombardment Wing.
He returned to the United States in September 1953 and was assigned as chief, Combat Crew Section, Headquarters Fifteenth Air Force
, March Air Force Base, California. In February 1957 he became chief, Training Division, for the 92nd Bombardment Wing, Fairchild Air Force Base
, Washington, and later was named director of operations.
Huyser returned to Headquarters Fifteenth Air Force in January 1959 as assistant chief and then as chief, Combat Operations Branch. In July 1960 he become chief, Operations Plans Division. He entered the Air War College
at Maxwell Air Force Base
, Alabama, in August 1962. After his graduation in July 1963, he served as chief, Concepts Branch, Operations Plans Division, Headquarters Strategic Air Command
, Offutt Air Force Base
, Nebraska.
In July 1966 he assumed duties as vice commander of the 454th Bombardment Wing
at Columbus Air Force Base
, Mississippi, and in December 1966 he assumed command of the 449th Bombardment Wing at Kincheloe Air Force Base, Michigan.
Huyser returned to Headquarters SAC in April 1968 and was assigned to the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, as director, command control, and in February 1970 he assumed duties as director of operations plans and chief, Single Integrated Operational Plan
s Division, Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff.
His principal involvement in the Vietnam War
was administering the contingency war plans for SAC headquarters. He planned the B-52 missions, weaponeered the target boxes and executed the strikes. He also managed the SAC tanker support for the Southeast Asia area. He also flew B-52 combat missions over Vietnam and tanker support sorties out of Thailand.
In June 1972 Huyser was assigned to Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C., in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Operations, as director of plans. In April 1973 he become deputy chief of staff, plans and operations. He participated in the decision-making processes that resulted in C-130 Hercules resources being assigned to the Military Airlift Command and the designation of the Military Airlift Command as the Department of Defense's third specified command.
Huyser become deputy commander in chief of the U.S. European Command, Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany, in September 1975, where he was one of the major users of Military Airlift Command airlift support.
In January 1979, while still EUCOM deputy, President Jimmy Carter
sent Huyser to Iran. Sources disagree on the nature of his mission. According to Carter, Huyser, and American sources, he attempted to stabilize Iran during the turbulent early stages of the Islamic revolution. Charles Kurzman
describes him as having been assigned by Carter "to rally Iranian Military commanders and help them prepare for a last-resort coup d'etat," unaware that the massive scale of the uprising left the Iranian military powerless to prevent the Shah's overthrow. According to some supporters of the Shah, his goal was to destabilize the Shah's government(Hostages to Khomeini by Robert Dreyfuss,1981). It was believed that General Huysar wanted to make sure that the Shah would leave that so that the Pro-American Islamists Yazdi, Bazargan and others would take over Iran.Khomeini had realized that Bani-Sadr,Ghotadeh,and Bazargan were CIA agents and he ordered the takeover of the US embassy and it was then that the Iranians found solid proof that Ghotzadeh, Bazargan and Bani-Sadr were CIA agents because of the documents seized during the US embassy takeover. Pro-Shah elements have suggested that the US government plans were based on the ideas of Bernard Lewis who saw that the Iranian revolution could spill over into the Soviet Union causing an Islamic uprising in the Muslim republics of the Soviet Union. The same thinking led the CIA to support the Islamic extremist mujahadeen in Afghanistan which later became the Taliban and led to a world-wide growth of Islamic terrorism culminating in the 9/11 tragedy along with other acts of Islamic extremist terrorism.. Shortly afterward, the Shah left Iran in exile and the Islamic Revolution took over the country. In his memoir Mission to Tehran, Huyser called the mission "one that started with desperation and disunity and ended in disaster," but praised the performance of U.S. personnel.
Huyser assumed command of the Military Airlift Command
in June 1979, his last posting.
Huyser retired from the Air Force on July 1, 1981 and died September 22, 1997 at the David Grant Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base
.
, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
with oak leaf cluster, Legion of Merit
, Bronze Star
, Defense Meritorious Service Medal
, Air Medal
, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal, Presidential Unit Citation emblem, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award ribbon, Small Arms Expert Marksmanship ribbon and Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
who served as Deputy Commander in Chief, United States European Command
United States European Command
The United States European Command is one of ten Unified Combatant Commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russia, Iceland, Greenland, and Israel...
(DCINCEUR) from 1975 to 1979; and as Commander in Chief, Military Airlift Command
Military Airlift Command
The Military Airlift Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command of the USAF which was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. It was constituted on 1 January 1966 and active until the end of the Cold War, when the Air Force table of organization was revised...
(CINCMAC) from 1979 to 1981.
Early life
Huyser was born in 1924, in Paonia, ColoradoPaonia, Colorado
The Town of Paonia is a Statutory Town in Delta County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,497 at the 2000 census.-History:The area was first explored in 1853 by Captain John W. Gunnison of the United States Army...
, where he graduated from Paonia High School. He later attended Modesto Junior College
Modesto Junior College
The Modesto Junior College is a community college located in Central Valley's Modesto, California.-Accreditation:Modesto Junior College is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. In January 2008, the Western Association Colleges and Schools notified the college that it had...
at Modesto, California
Modesto, California
Modesto is a city in, and is the county seat of, Stanislaus County, California. With a population of approximately 201,165 at the 2010 census, Modesto ranks as the 18th largest city in the state of California....
, and
Ouachita College at Arkadelphia, Arkansas
Arkadelphia, Arkansas
Arkadelphia is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 10,548. The city is the county seat of Clark County. The city is situated at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. Two universities, Henderson State...
.
Military career
He was drafted into the Army in April 1943 and in 1944 entered the aviation cadet program. In September 1944 he graduated from flying school and received his pilot wings and commission as a second lieutenant.During World War II he flew B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
s in the Southwest Pacific area. In May 1945 he was assigned as a B-29 pilot at Clovis, New Mexico
Clovis, New Mexico
Clovis is the county seat of Curry County, New Mexico, United States. Its population was 32,667 at the 2000 census; according to 2010 Census Bureau estimates, the population had risen to 37,775....
. From August 1946 to May 1947, Huyser was an aircraft commander in the 307th Bombardment Wing, MacDill Field, Florida. He next become an aircraft commander in the 93rd Bombardment Wing at Castle Air Force Base
Castle Air Force Base
Castle Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base located northeast of Atwater, northwest of Merced and about east southeast of San Francisco, California....
, California, and in 1950 was assigned to the wing staff as chief of training.
During the Korean War Huyser was assigned to the Far East Air Forces Bomber Command as chief, combat operations. During that period he flew combat missions in B-29s with the 98th Bombardment Wing.
He returned to the United States in September 1953 and was assigned as chief, Combat Crew Section, Headquarters Fifteenth Air Force
Fifteenth Air Force
The Fifteenth Expeditionary Mobility Task Force is one of two EMTFs assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It is headquartered at Travis Air Force Base, California....
, March Air Force Base, California. In February 1957 he became chief, Training Division, for the 92nd Bombardment Wing, Fairchild Air Force Base
Fairchild Air Force Base
Fairchild Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately southwest of Spokane, Washington.The host unit at Fairchild is the 92d Air Refueling Wing assigned to the Air Mobility Command's 15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force...
, Washington, and later was named director of operations.
Huyser returned to Headquarters Fifteenth Air Force in January 1959 as assistant chief and then as chief, Combat Operations Branch. In July 1960 he become chief, Operations Plans Division. He entered the Air War College
Air War College
The Air War College is a part of the United States Air Force's Air University, headquartered at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. Air University's higher headquarters is Air Education and Training Command headquartered at Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. The Air War...
at Maxwell Air Force Base
Maxwell Air Force Base
Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force installation under the Air Education and Training Command . The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, US. It was named in honor of Second Lieutenant William C...
, Alabama, in August 1962. After his graduation in July 1963, he served as chief, Concepts Branch, Operations Plans Division, Headquarters Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
, Offutt Air Force Base
Offutt Air Force Base
Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force installation near Omaha, and lies adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S...
, Nebraska.
In July 1966 he assumed duties as vice commander of the 454th Bombardment Wing
454th Bombardment Wing
The 454th Bombardment Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Strategic Air Command 42d Air Division, stationed at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. It was inactivated on 25 July 1968....
at Columbus Air Force Base
Columbus Air Force Base
Columbus Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately north of Columbus, Mississippi.The host unit at Columbus is the 14th Flying Training Wing assigned to the Air Education and Training Command Nineteenth Air Force. The 14 FTW's mission is to provide specialized...
, Mississippi, and in December 1966 he assumed command of the 449th Bombardment Wing at Kincheloe Air Force Base, Michigan.
Huyser returned to Headquarters SAC in April 1968 and was assigned to the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, as director, command control, and in February 1970 he assumed duties as director of operations plans and chief, Single Integrated Operational Plan
Single Integrated Operational Plan
The Single Integrated Operational Plan was the United States' general plan for nuclear war from 1961 to 2003. The SIOP gave the President of the United States a range of targeting options, and described launch procedures and target sets against which nuclear weapons would be launched...
s Division, Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff.
His principal involvement in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
was administering the contingency war plans for SAC headquarters. He planned the B-52 missions, weaponeered the target boxes and executed the strikes. He also managed the SAC tanker support for the Southeast Asia area. He also flew B-52 combat missions over Vietnam and tanker support sorties out of Thailand.
In June 1972 Huyser was assigned to Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C., in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Operations, as director of plans. In April 1973 he become deputy chief of staff, plans and operations. He participated in the decision-making processes that resulted in C-130 Hercules resources being assigned to the Military Airlift Command and the designation of the Military Airlift Command as the Department of Defense's third specified command.
Huyser become deputy commander in chief of the U.S. European Command, Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany, in September 1975, where he was one of the major users of Military Airlift Command airlift support.
In January 1979, while still EUCOM deputy, President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
sent Huyser to Iran. Sources disagree on the nature of his mission. According to Carter, Huyser, and American sources, he attempted to stabilize Iran during the turbulent early stages of the Islamic revolution. Charles Kurzman
Charles Kurzman
Charles Kurzman is a Professor of Sociology at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who specializes in Middle East and Islamic studies. Among his publications are:* * * * * -External links:*...
describes him as having been assigned by Carter "to rally Iranian Military commanders and help them prepare for a last-resort coup d'etat," unaware that the massive scale of the uprising left the Iranian military powerless to prevent the Shah's overthrow. According to some supporters of the Shah, his goal was to destabilize the Shah's government(Hostages to Khomeini by Robert Dreyfuss,1981). It was believed that General Huysar wanted to make sure that the Shah would leave that so that the Pro-American Islamists Yazdi, Bazargan and others would take over Iran.Khomeini had realized that Bani-Sadr,Ghotadeh,and Bazargan were CIA agents and he ordered the takeover of the US embassy and it was then that the Iranians found solid proof that Ghotzadeh, Bazargan and Bani-Sadr were CIA agents because of the documents seized during the US embassy takeover. Pro-Shah elements have suggested that the US government plans were based on the ideas of Bernard Lewis who saw that the Iranian revolution could spill over into the Soviet Union causing an Islamic uprising in the Muslim republics of the Soviet Union. The same thinking led the CIA to support the Islamic extremist mujahadeen in Afghanistan which later became the Taliban and led to a world-wide growth of Islamic terrorism culminating in the 9/11 tragedy along with other acts of Islamic extremist terrorism.. Shortly afterward, the Shah left Iran in exile and the Islamic Revolution took over the country. In his memoir Mission to Tehran, Huyser called the mission "one that started with desperation and disunity and ended in disaster," but praised the performance of U.S. personnel.
Huyser assumed command of the Military Airlift Command
Military Airlift Command
The Military Airlift Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command of the USAF which was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. It was constituted on 1 January 1966 and active until the end of the Cold War, when the Air Force table of organization was revised...
in June 1979, his last posting.
Huyser retired from the Air Force on July 1, 1981 and died September 22, 1997 at the David Grant Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base
Travis Air Force Base
Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force air base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command , located three miles east of the central business district of Fairfield, in Solano County, California, United States. The base is named for Brigadier General Robert F...
.
Awards and Medals
Huyser was a command pilot and flew more than 5,000 hours in SAC bombers, nearly 2,000, hours in SAC tankers, about 1,400 hours in single engine jet aircraft and 1,500 hours in B-25, C-54, T-39 and various light aircraft. His military decorations and awards include the Defense Distinguished Service MedalDefense Distinguished Service Medal
The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a United States military award which is presented for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to national security or defense of the United States...
, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
The Air Force Distinguished Service Medal was created by an act of the United States Congress on July 6, 1960. The medal was intended as a new decoration of the United States Air Force to replace the policy of awarding the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Air Force personnel.The Air Force...
with oak leaf cluster, Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
, Bronze Star
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
, Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
The Defense Meritorious Service Medal is the third-highest award bestowed upon members of the United States military by the United States Department of Defense...
, Air Medal
Air Medal
The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal, Presidential Unit Citation emblem, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award ribbon, Small Arms Expert Marksmanship ribbon and Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.
Defense Distinguished Service MedalDefense Distinguished Service MedalThe Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a United States military award which is presented for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to national security or defense of the United States...
Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Legion of MeritLegion of MeritThe Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
Bronze StarBronze Star MedalThe Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
Defense Meritorious Service MedalDefense Meritorious Service MedalThe Defense Meritorious Service Medal is the third-highest award bestowed upon members of the United States military by the United States Department of Defense...
Air MedalAir MedalThe Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Army Commendation Medal- Army Presidential Unit Citation
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon.svg.png)
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit CitationPresidential Unit Citation (Korea)The Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation is issued by the government of South Korea to both Korean military and foreign units. The last major issuance of the decoration was during the Korean War when the decoration was bestowed to several U.S., U.K., and Commonwealth military units...