Former Air University commander passes away

  • Published
  • By Carl Bergquist
  • Air University Public Affairs
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. --  A former Air University commander, who was instrumental in establishing the Senior NCO Academy, has passed away.

Lt. Gen. Alvan C. Gillem II was the 12th commander of Air University serving here from Aug. 1970 to Nov. 1973. He was 92 at the time of his death Sept. 3.

George Cully, Air University historian, said during the general's time at Air University a number of changes and events took place. One key event was the stand-up of the Air Force Senior NCO Academy and a change was helping the Air Force adjust to new social ideas following the 1960s and 1970s.

"The Air Force had to adapt to a new national mindset as a result of the social turmoil of the 1960s and the Vietnam War," he said. "In General Gillem's hands, Air University made many changes for the better of Air University and the Air Force.

"In a 2007 interview, General Gillem said his then command sergeant major, Bob Dorsey, approached him about establishing advanced enlisted training.

"I agreed with him, and he talked me into taking it to the Pentagon," General Gillem said. "I told them at the Pentagon that I thought I had the money, buildings and personnel already at Air University, and they said 'go ahead.' So, I came back to Maxwell and told Bob to get it rolling."

The general said his intension for the SNCOA was to give "up-and-coming" sergeant Air Force-wide exposure which brought them out of their major commands, and showed them what other parts of the Air Force were doing.

Among the changes during General Gillem's tenure as Air University commander was a change in the perception of women in the Air Force. Mr. Cully said by the end of 1970, the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps had 95 universities nationwide allowing women into their AFROTC programs, and that same year women were allowed to wear pants as part of their uniform for the first time at Air University.

Also in 1970, the then Post Master General of the U.S., Winton Blount, and General Gillem held a dedication of a new postage stamp that honored prisoners of war and those missing in action from the Vietnam conflict. In addition, the president of South Vietnam, Nguyen Coa Ky, came to Air University to speak with student about the war.

A plus for the Montgomery community was Gunter AFB being chosen the site of the Air Force Data Systems Design Center in 1971, which officially opened in Aug. 1972. In 1971, Cadet Leslie Holley became the first woman graduate of the AFROTC program since it went co-ed in 1970, and in April 1972, Col. Robert McCutchen was named the first commandant of what had been named the U.S.A.F. Senior NCO Academy which moved to Gunter AFB in Nov. 1972.

General Gillem graduated the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., in 1940, entered pilot training and won his wings in March 1941.

The general's career included action during World War II with the 31st Fighter Group flying the British Spitfire and the American P-51 Mustang. He returned from Europe a lieutenant colonel and was assigned to the Plans Division at Headquarters Army Air Force in Washington, D.C., where he helped set up the Strategic Air Command.

After graduating Air Command and Staff College in 1948, General Gillem was assigned to the Central Intelligence Agency in Washington. In 1950, he was promoted to colonel and returned to the 31st Fighter Wing as its commander at Turner Air Force Base, Ga. The general attended Air War College in 1953 and remained at Maxwell until 1957 when he returned to SAC as the commander of the 380th Bombardment Wing at Plattsburg AFB, N.Y.

Following his promotion to brigadier general in 1961, General Gillem commanded SAC's 820th Air Division, was assigned to Westover AFB, Ma., as commander of the 57th Air Division and in 1963 became commander of the 823rd Air Division at Homestead AFB, Fla.

Now a major general, he went to SAC Headquarters at Offutt AFB, Neb., in 1963 and was promoted to lieutenant general in 1968 when he was named commander of the 3rd Air Division at Andersen AFB, Guam. General Gillem's last assignment before coming to Air University was as commander of the Eighth Air Force in Guam.
General Gillem was born in 1917 in Nogales, Ariz., and was rated a "command pilot."

His decorations included the Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster and the Air Medal with 15 oak leaf clusters.

He was the son of Lt. Gen. Alvan Gillem Jr., who served as the commanding general of the 3rd U.S. Army at Fort McPherson, Ga., before his retirement in 1950.