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| Information > Biographies > BRIGADIER GENERAL IRVING B. REED |
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BRIGADIER GENERAL IRVING B. REED
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Retired Dec. 7, 1977.
Brigadier General Irving B. Reed is commander of the 47th Air Division, Strategic Air Command, with headquarters at Fairchild Air Force Base, Spokane, Wash.
General Reed was born in 1929, in Kenansville, N.C. He graduated from Fishburne Military School, Waynesboro, Va., in 1947 and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., in 1951; and received a master's degree in business administration from The George Washington University in 1963.
After attending flying training at Spence Field, Ga., and Reese Air Force Base, Texas, General Reed received his pilot wings in August 1952. He then began B-29 Combat Crew Training School at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, moving on to Forbes Air Force Base, Kan., in January 1953 to complete that school.
From March to October 1953 he flew the B-29 in combat missions over Korea, while assigned to the 19th Bombardment Wing at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. On his return to the United States, he transferred to B-36 aircraft with the 7th Bombardment Wing, Carswell Air Force Base, Texas. From July 1954 through January 1955 he attended the specialized Navigational School for Pilots at James Connally Air Force Base, Texas. He then transitioned to B-47 aircraft with the 2d Bombardment Wing, Hunter Air Force Base, Ga., where he remained until July 1962 when he left to attend the Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
General Reed flew B-52 aircraft with the 68th Bombardment Wing, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., from July 1963 to June 1965, when he was transferred to Headquarters Strategic Air Command. In January 1968 he moved to the Pentagon and served in the Strategic Operations Division of the Air Staff.
In August 1971, General Reed went to the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla., as an Air Force research associate with the Center for Advanced International Studies. While there, he collaborated on a book comparing the trends of the United States and Soviet activities and influence in Latin America.
He attended A-1E Combat Crew Training School at Hurlburt Field, Fla., in June and July 1972, after which he was assigned as vice commander, 56th Special Operations Wing, Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand. He served in this position from August 1972 to May 1973, when he was designated vice commander, 5th Bombardment Wing, Minot Air Force Base, N.D. In June 1974, he assumed command of the 93d Bombardment Wing, Castle Air Force Base, Calif.
In April 1975 General Reed was assigned as director of command control, Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, Headquarters Strategic Air Command, and in January 1977 as the assistant deputy chief of staff, operations.
General Reed assumed command of the 47th Air Division on Nov. 14, 1977.
He is a command pilot, with more than 5,000 flying hours. His military decorations and awards include the Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters, and the Air Force Commendation Medal.
He was promoted to the grade of brigadier general on July 1, 1975, with date of rank June 29, 1975.
(Current as of December 1977)
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