Major General George Harrison
In this Series of Episodes, Pitchlock Pete and Whitey traveled to the -Dekalb-Peachtree Airport upon invite from the Commemorative Air Force-Dixie Wing to record and document some wonderful aviators and the remaining Tuskegee Airman from WWII. This event marks the 75th anniversary of the Tuskegee Airman. We hope you enjoy this series of interviews. We are so privileged to interview so many heroes. Enjoy - Pitchlock Pete.
Major General (USAF, Ret) George Harrison is Director, Research Operations, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Atlanta, Georgia. Before his retirement from the Air Force in July 1997 after over 35 years of active duty, he was Commander, Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. He began his career as an F-4 pilot at MacDill AFB, Florida in 1962. Since then, he has flown combat in the O-1F from DaNang AB, RVN, the F-4 from Cam Rahn Bay AB, RVN and Udorn RTAFB. In later years, he flew combat missions in the F-16C over Iraq (Provide Comfort), the C-130E, E-3A and E-8C over and into Bosnia (Deny Flight and Joint Endeavor) and the E-3B over Iraq (Desert Storm). He commanded the 4485th Test Squadron, the 479th Tactical Training Wing, the USAF Air Warfare Center and served as the USAFE DO. As a civil aviator he is an FAA instructor in single and multiengine airplanes, instruments and gliders. He has flown 6200 accident-free hours in over 70 aircraft types, including 530 combat hours.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. June 1962 - August 1963, student, flight training, Moody Air Force Base, Ga.
2. August 1963 - October 1965, fighter pilot, 557th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 12th Tactical Fighter Wing, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. (Feb. 1965 - April 1965, temporary duty as O-1F pilot and forward air controller, 2nd Division, Army of the Republic of Vietnam)
3. November 1965 - September 1966, F-4 fighter pilot, 12th Tactical Fighter Wing, Cam Ranh Bay Air Base, South Vietnam
4. September 1966 - April 1969, F-4 replacement training instructor, 4531st Tactical Fighter Wing, Homestead Air Force Base, Fla.
5. April 1969 - December 1970, Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, University of Pennsylvania
6. January 1971 - January 1974, staff officer, directorate of operations, later joint training exercise planner, U.S. Readiness Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.
7. January 1974 - June 1974, student, Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
8. July 1974 - October 1975, fighter pilot, 432nd Tactical Fighter Wing, Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand
9. October 1975 - July 1978, operations officer, later commander, 4485th Test Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
10. August 1978 - June 1979, student, Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
11. June 1979 - October 1981, chief of operational test and evaluation division, later assistant deputy director for operational support, directorate of operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
12. November 1981 - October 1982, vice commander, 37th Tactical Fighter Wing, George Air Force Base, Calif.
13. October 1982 - August 1984, commander, 479th Tactical Training Wing, Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.
14. August 1984 - November 1986, chief, joint operations division, J-3, Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, D.C.
15. December 1986 - September 1989, deputy chief of staff for plans, later chief of staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein Air Base, West Germany
16. September 1989 - November 1991, assistant chief of staff for studies and analysis, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
17. November 1991 - October 1992, deputy chief of staff for operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein Air Base, West Germany (May - September 1992, temporary duty as commander, Joint Task Force, Southwest Asia)
18. November 1992 - November 1993, commander, U.S. Air Force Air Warfare Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
19. December 1993 - present, commander, Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.