Chuck Horner

External videos
External videos
	Presentation by Horner and Clancy to the National Press Club on Every Man a Tiger, May 18, 1999, C-SPAN

Charles A. Horner
Charles A. Horner
	Air Force Commendation Medal (4)
Other work	author

Charles Albert Horner (born October 19, 1936) is a retired

Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., the commander of all coalition forces, was still in the United States. He currently serves on the board of directors for the United States Institute of Peace

.

Military career

Horner was born in

United States Central Command Air Forces, in command of all United States and allied air assets during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.^[2]

Horner is a command pilot with more than 5,300 flying hours in a variety of fighter aircraft. During the

F-105 Thunderchief during a tour. He later flew more than 70 combat missions as an F-105 Wild Weasel pilot, deliberately drawing anti-aircraft fire to identify and destroy North Vietnamese defenses.^[2]

After primary flight training at

Korat AB in Thailand, flying missions over North Vietnam.^[5] From August 1965 to 1967, Horner returned to Nellis AFB as an F-105 instructor, becoming involved in a number of projects involving other aircraft and undergoing F-105 Wild Weasel training. In 1967, he returned to Korat AB, flying both Wild Weasel and night radar bombing missions.^[6]

Horner returned to Nellis AFB in August 1967 where, after initial assignment to the Combat Crew Training Wing, he ended up flying as an instructor at the

College of William and Mary, where he earned his Master of Business Administration. This was followed by a three-year assignment at The Pentagon and subsequent assignment to the National War College at Seymore Johnson AFB.^[7]

In January 1977, Horner participated in his first

F-16 Fighting Falcons. TAC Commander General Wilbur L. Creech kept moving Horner; who commanded at four different bases, two air divisions, the Air Defense Weapons Center, and finally Ninth Air Force.^[9]

Horner was Commander in Chief of

Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado from 1992 to 1994. He was responsible for the aerospace defense of the United States and Canada, and the exploitation and control of space for national purposes through a network of satellites and ground stations around the world.^[2]

Other work

Horner co-wrote Every Man a Tiger with Tom Clancy. In 2004, Horner served on a Pentagon team that looked into detainee abuse.

The United States Air Force awards a General Charles A. Horner "Tiger Award" to one officer and one enlisted individual assigned to the Fourteenth Air Force annually (.pdf). He currently resides in Lake Lorraine, Florida.

Horner is on the Honorary Capital Campaign Committee for the National Desert Storm War Memorial Association. They are committed to build The National Desert Storm and Desert Shield Memorial at 23rd Streets and Constitution Avenue, N.W. in Washington, D.C. by 2021. This will be the 30th Anniversary of Operation Desert Storm.

Education

1958 Bachelor of Arts degree, University of Iowa, Iowa City
1967
Maxwell AFB, Alabama
1972 Master of Business Administration degree,
College of William and Mary
, Williamsburg, Virginia
1972
Armed Forces Staff College
, Norfolk, Virginia
1974
Industrial College of the Armed Forces
, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
1976 National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.

Assignments

October 1958 – June 1959, student, officer preflight training, Spence AFB, Georgia
June 1959 – October 1960, student, pilot training,
Laredo AFB, Texas
October — November 1960, student, F-100 combat crew training,
Nellis AFB, Nevada
November 1960 – December 1963, F-100 pilot,
Royal Air Force Station Lakenheath
, England
December 1963 – December 1965, F-105 pilot,
Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina
June 1965 – December 1965, temporary duty as F-105 pilot,
Korat Royal Thai AFB
, Thailand
December 1965 – May 1967, F-105 instructor pilot, Nellis AFB, Nevada
May 1967 – September 1967, F-105 Wild Weasel pilot, Korat Royal Thai AFB, Thailand
September 1967 – October 1969, F-105 instructor pilot, Nellis AFB, Nevada, then liaison officer, Air Force Tactical Fighter Weapons Center, Nellis AFB, Nevada
October 1969 – January 1971, air operations staff officer, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans, Headquarters Tactical Air Command,
Langley AFB, Virginia
January 1971 – January 1972, student, Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia
January 1972 – August 1975, air operations officer, later, Chief of the Force Branch in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
August 1975 – June 1976, student, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
June 1976 – March 1979, Deputy Commander for Operations, 4th Tactical Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.
March 1979 – August 1979, Vice Commander,
58th Tactical Training Wing
, Luke AFB, Arizona
August 1979 – May 1980, Commander,
405th Tactical Training Wing
, Luke Air Force Base, Arizona
May 1980 – August 1981, Commander, 474th Tactical Fighter Wing, Nellis AFB, Nevada
August 1981 – May 1983, Commander,
Holloman AFB, New Mexico
May 1983 – October 1983, Commander, 23d North American Aerospace Defense Command Region, and Tactical Air Command Air Division,
Tyndall AFB, Florida
October 1983 – May 1985, Commander, Air Force Air Defense Weapons Center,
Tyndall AFB, Florida
May 1985 – March 1987, Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans, Headquarters Tactical Air Command, Langley AFB, Virginia
March 1987 – June 1992, Commander,
Shaw AFB, South Carolina
. He commanded U.S. and allied air operations for Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia from August 1990 until his return to Shaw AFB in April 1991.
June 1992 – September 1994, Commander in Chief,
Peterson AFB, Colorado
September 30, 1994, Retired from active duty.

Flight information

Rating: Command pilot
Flight hours: More than 5,300
Aircraft flown:
F-16
Pilot wings from: Laredo Air Force Base, Texas

Awards and decorations

	U.S. Air Force Command Pilot Badge
	Basic Space and Missile Operations Badge

	Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters
	Silver Star with oak leaf cluster
	Legion of Merit
	Distinguished Flying Cross
	Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
	Air Medal with ten oak leaf clusters
	Aerial Achievement Medal
	Air Force Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters
	Air Force Presidential Unit Citation with oak leaf cluster
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with silver oak leaf cluster
	Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with two oak leaf clusters
	Combat Readiness Medal
	National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star
	Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with two service stars
	Vietnam Service Medal with service star
	Southwest Asia Service Medal with three service stars
	Air Force Overseas Short Tour Service Ribbon
	Air Force Overseas Long Tour Service Ribbon
	Air Force Longevity Service Award with one silver and three bronze oak leaf clusters
	Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon
	Air Force Training Ribbon
	Khalifiyyeh Order of Bahrain, Grand Cross
	King Faisal Order, Officer
	United Arab Emirates Military Merit Order, Grand Cross
	Legion of Honour, Officer (France)
	Meritorious Service Cross, Military Division (Canada)
	Medal of Merit (Nicaragua) with bronze star
	Vietnam Campaign Medal
	Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia)
	Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)