Lew Allen

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Lew Allen Jr.
President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board

Lew Allen Jr. (September 30, 1925 – January 4, 2010) was a

National Security Council, and the president
.

Early life and education

Born in

Miami, Florida, Allen attended and graduated from high school in Gainesville, Texas, in 1942. He entered the United States Military Academy, in 1943, and he graduated in 1946 with a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission as a second lieutenant. He was awarded his pilot's wings upon his graduation from flight training.[1]

Military career

After completing multi-engine flight training in November 1946, Allen was assigned to

Convair B-36 bomber. Allen also served in various technical positions in the area of nuclear weapons. Allen also attended the Air Tactical Course at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, and next he returned to Carswell Air Force Base as a flight instructor
and as an assistant Special Weapons Officer for the 7th Bombardment Wing.

In September 1950, Allen entered the

ballistic missile defense
.

From June 1957 to December 1961, Allen was assigned to

thermonuclear
bombs.) Allen specialized in the military effects of high altitude nuclear explosions and participated in several nuclear weapons test series. He was scientific director of a major experiment that utilized a large series of high-altitude rockets to measure the characteristics of electrons trapped in the geomagnetic field after an exoatmospheric nuclear burst.

Allen was assigned in December 1961 to the Office of the

Secretary of the Air Force, initially in Los Angeles, California, as the deputy director for advanced plans in the Directorate of Special Projects. Allen next moved to The Pentagon
in June 1968 as the deputy director of space systems, and in June 1969, he became the director. He returned to Los Angeles in September 1970 as the assistant to the director of special projects and in April 1971 became the director of special projects, with additional duty as the deputy commander for satellite programs of the Space and Missile Systems Organization.

After serving briefly as the chief of staff for the

Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. Allen's tenure as the NSA director was noteworthy in that he became the first director to ever testify publicly before Congress.[2] In August 1977, he was named commander of Air Force Systems Command
.

Allen served as the

Norton Schwartz
have been fighter pilots, and this trend is reflected by the Service's weapon budgets, which devote most funding to fighters rather than bombers.

Retirement

Allen did not believe that crewed spaceflight was useful. He reportedly told a

Voyager Program
(space probes launched in 1977), and he served as the Director of the JPL until 1990.

Allen was a member of the National Academy of Engineering[4] and the Council on Foreign Relations.

From 1993 to 1995, Allen served as a member of the

Intelligence Oversight Board.[5]

Allen was awarded the 1999 Distinguished Graduate Award of the Association of Graduates, the alumni association of West Point graduates.[5]

Allen died in

Potomac Falls, Virginia, on January 4, 2010, of complications from rheumatoid arthritis.[6] He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on March 22, 2010.[7][8]

Legacy

The United States Air Force created the General Lew Allen, Jr. Trophy in Allen's honor, which is awarded annually to an Officer and a Senior NCO in the aircraft maintenance or munitions career fields directly involved with setting up aircraft sorties.[9]

In 1983, Allen received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[10][11]

Since 1986, the

Lew Allen Award for Excellence, until 1990 called the Director's Research Achievement Award.[12]

Minor planet

4125 Lew Allen is named in his honor.[13]

Awards and decorations

Command Air Force Pilot Badge
Master Missile Badge
Joint Chiefs of Staff Badge
Bronze oak leaf cluster
 Defense Distinguished Service Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
with bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Width-44 crimson ribbon with a pair of width-2 white stripes on the edges
 Legion of Merit with two bronze oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Air Force Organizational Excellence Award
National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal
American Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
Bronze star
Width=44 scarlet ribbon with a central width-4 golden yellow stripe, flanked by pairs of width-1 scarlet, white, Old Glory blue, and white stripes
 National Defense Service Medal with bronze service star
Silver oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Longevity Service Award
with silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters
Order of National Security Merit
, Gugseon Medal
Order of the Phoenix (Greece)

See also
  • Project Shamrock

References

  1. ^ "General Lew Allen Jr". Official Website of the US Air Force. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
  2. ISBN 0-14-006748-5
    .
  3. ^ Cassutt, Michael (August 2009). "The Secret Space Shuttles". Air & Space. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
  4. ^ "Dr. Lew Allen Jr". National Academy of Engineering. Archived from the original on 2006-06-15. Retrieved 2006-07-16.
  5. ^ a b "Association of Graduates, USMA". 1999 Distinguished Graduate Award. 1999. Archived from the original on 2006-04-10. Retrieved 2006-04-15.
  6. ^ Martin, Douglas (January 9, 2010). "Gen. Lew Allen, Who Lifted Veil on Security Agency, Is Dead at 84". The New York Times.
  7. ^ Burial Detail: Allen, Lew – ANC Explorer
  8. ^ "Former chief of staff laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery". Archived from the original on 2012-07-20.
  9. ^ "AFI 36-2603" (PDF). The USAF Maintenance Awards Program. USAF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  10. American Academy of Achievement
    .
  11. ^ Wade, Larry (July 14, 1983). "American Academy of Achievement fills Coronado with famous names" (PDF). Coronado Journal. Coronado Journal.
  12. JPL. Archived from the original
    on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  13. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7
    .

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from General Lew Allen Jr. United States Air Force.

External links

Government offices
Preceded by Director of the National Security Agency
1973–1977 		Succeeded by
Military offices
Preceded by Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force
1978–1982 		Succeeded by


External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lew Allen.
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