Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000 troops (four battalions). In some countries a brigadier general is informally designated as a one-star general.

In some countries, this rank is given the name of brigadier, which is often considered to not be a general-officer rank, but is usually equivalent to brigadier general in the armies of nations that use the rank.

The rank can be traced back to the militaries of Europe where a brigadier general, or simply a brigadier, would command a brigade in the field. An alternative rank of "brigade general" was first used in the French revolutionary armies.

In the first quarter of the 20th century, British and Commonwealth armies used the rank of brigadier general as a temporary appointment, or as an honorary appointment on retirement; in the 1920s this practice changed to the use of brigadier, which is not classed as a general officer.

Brazil and a few countries uses major general as the equivalent of brigadier general. Some of these countries then generally use a rank of colonel general to make four general-officer ranks.^{[citation needed]}

The naval equivalent is usually commodore.^[1]

Insignia[link]

Army insignia[link]

• Australian-Army-BRIGGEN.gif

  Australian Army:
  (until 1922)
  Brigadier general

• 

  Belgium:
  Général de brigade /
  Brigadegeneraal

• 

  Canadian Forces:
  Brigadier general /
  Brigadier-général

• 

  Egyptian Armed Forces:
  Brigadier General
  (Arabic: عميد‎)

• 

  Estonia:
  Brigaadikindral

• 

  Germany:
  Brigadegeneral Bundeswehr

• 

  Greece:
  Ταξίαρχος
  (Taxiarchos)

• 

  Hungary:
  Dandártábornok

• 

  Italy:
  Generale di brigata (Brigadiere generale)

• Lebarmybrigenrank.png

  Lebanese Armed Forces:
  Amid
  (Arabic: عميد)

• 

  Portuguese Army:
  Brigadeiro-general

• 

  Romania:
  General de brigadă

• 

  Serbia:
  Бригадни Генерал / Brigadni general

• 

  Swedish Army:
  Brigadgeneral

• 

  British Army:
  (until 1920)
  Brigadier general

• 

  U.S. Army:
  Brigadier general

• 

  Netherlands:
  Brigadegeneraal

Air Force insignia[link]

This gallery displays Air Force brigadier general insignia if they are different from the Army brigadier general insignia. (They usually are.)
Note that in many Commonwealth countries, the equivalent air force rank is Air Commodore (and in the Netherlands, it is simply Commodore).

• 

  Denmark

• 

  France:
  général de brigade aérienne

• 

  Greece:
  Ταξίαρχος

• 

  Hungary:
  Dandártábornok

• 

  Italy:
  Generale di Brigata Aerea

• 

  Poland

• Brigadeiro t.jpg

  Portugal:
  Brigadeiro-general

• 

  Romania:
  General de flotilă aeriană

• 

  Serbia:
  Бригадни Генерал / Brigadni general

• 

  Spain

• 

  U.S. Air Force:
  Brigadier General

• 

  Netherlands:
  Commodore

Brigadier general ranks by country[link]

Argentina[link]

The rank of brigadier general (with some local variations) is used in the Argentine Air Force and unlike other armed forces of the World, the rank of brigadier general is actually the highest rank in the Air Force. This is due to the use of the rank of brigadier and its derivatives to designate all general officers in the Air Force: brigadier (lowest general officer) brigadier-major (middle) and brigadier-general (highest). The rank of brigadier general is reserved for the Chief General Staff of the Air Force, as well as the Chief of the Joint General Staff if he should be an Air Force officer.

The Argentine Army does not use the rank of brigadier-general, instead using the brigade general ( Spanish: General de brigada ) which in turn is the lowest general officer before Divisional General ( Spanish: General de Division ) and Lieutenant General ( Spanish: Teniente General ). See also Argentine Army officer rank insignia..

Australia[link]

In the Australian Imperial Force during World War I, the rank of brigadier general was always temporary and held only while the officer was posted to a particular task, typically the command of a brigade. When posted elsewhere, the rank would be relinquished and the former rank resumed. This policy prevented an accumulation of high-ranking general officers brought about by the relatively high turnover of brigade commanders. Brigadier general was also used as an honorary rank on retirement. The rank insignia was like that of the current major general, but without the star/pip^[2] - example.

As in the United Kingdom, the rank was later replaced by brigadier. Hence, prior to 1922, a "brigadier general" was a "general officer"; subsequently, brigadiers were not "generals"; this is shown by the rank insignia being like that of a colonel, but with an extra (third) star/pip^[2] - example.

(See also Australian Army officer rank insignia and List of Australian generals and brigadiers.)

Bangladesh[link]

The rank was known as brigadier in conformity with the rank structure of the Commonwealth Nations prior to 2001 in the Bangladesh Army. It is the lowest ranking general officer between the ranks of Colonel and Major General.

The Bangladesh Army introduced the rank of brigadier general in 2001, however the grade stayed equivalent to Brigadier . Brigadier General is equivalent to commodore of the Bangladesh Navy and air commodore of the Bangladesh Air Force. It is still more popularly called brigadier (one-star general).

Belgium[link]

The Belgian Army uses the rank of général de brigade (French) and brigadegeneraal (Dutch). However, in this small military there are no permanent promotions to this rank, and it is only awarded as a temporary promotion to a full colonel who assumes a post requiring the rank, notably in an international context (e.g. as Military Attaché in a major embassy).

Brazil[link]

Brigadier General is the lowest rank amongst general officers of the Brazilian army. They wear two stars as this is the entry level for general officers in the Brazilian Army. In the Brazilian Air Force, the two-star, three-star and four-star ranks are known as Brigadeiro (Brigadier), Major-Brigadeiro (Major-Brigadier) and Tenente-Brigadeiro-do-Ar (Lieutenant-Air-Brigadier) respectively. See Military ranks of Brazil and Brigadier#Officer rank in Latin America for more information.

Canada[link]

In the Canadian Forces, the rank of brigadier-general (BGen) (brigadier-général or bgén in French) is an Army or Air Force rank equal to a commodore of the Navy. A brigadier-general is the lowest rank of General Officer, the Army and Air Force equivalent of a Naval commodore. A brigadier-general is senior to a colonel or naval captain, and junior to a major-general or rear admiral.

The rank title "brigadier-general" is still used notwithstanding that brigades in the army are now commanded by colonels. Until the late 1990s brigades were commanded by brigadier-generals. In the air force context, brigadier-generals used to command air force "Groups" until these bodies were abolished in the late 1990s.

The rank insignia for a brigadier-general is a single gold maple leaf beneath crossed sword and baton, all surmounted by St. Edward's Crown, worn on the shoulder straps of the service dress jacket, and on slip-ons on other uniforms. The service dress jacket also features a wide strip of gold braid around the cuff. On the visor of the service cap are two rows of gold oak leaves; the air force wedge cap features gold braid on the edges of the ear flaps. The cap insignia for a general officer is a modified version of the Canadian Forces insignia; the collar insignia (Army generals only) is two crossed sabres. Some brigadier-generals, by nature of holding a branch-specific appointment, may continue to wear the insignia of their personnel branch; for example, the chaplain-general wears the general officer's cap insignia with the collar insignia of the Chaplain Branch,^[3] while the surgeon-general continues to wear the cap and collar insignia of the Canadian Forces Medical Service.^[4]

• Army uniform variations
• 

  Dress uniform tunic

• Army slip-on BGen.png

  Uniform shirts

• CADPAT temperate BGen.png

  CADPAT uniform

• CADPAT arid BGen.png

  arid-region CADPAT uniform

• Air Force uniform variations
• 

  Dress uniform tunic

• Air Force slip-on BGen.png

  Uniform shirts

• Air Force olive BGen.png

  CADPAT uniform

Brigadier-generals are initially addressed verbally as "General" and name; thereafter by subordinates as "Sir" or "Ma'am" in English or "mon général" in French. They are normally entitled to staff cars.

Note: Before unification in 1968 of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Canadian Army, and the Royal Canadian Navy, rank structure and insignia followed the British pattern. In army usage, the term "brigadier" was used to denote what is now known as a brigadier-general while the air force used the rank of Air Commodore.

China[link]

Chinese rank of (Da-Xiao 大校) or Senior Colonel is a direct equivalent of a brigadier. It ranks above colonel (Shang-Xiao 上校) and below major general (Shao-Jiang 少将). A brigadier is commonly in command of a division (Shi 师) or a brigade (Lu 旅). Divisional commanders are seldom general officers.

Colombia[link]

Insignia of a Colombian brigadier general

The rank of brigadier general is the first general officer rank in the Fuerzas Militares,^[5] and the National Police.^[6]

Estonia[link]

In the Estonian military, the rank is called Brigaadikindral.

France[link]

France uses the rank of "brigade general" (général de brigade). It formerly used the historic rank, until 1793, of brigadier des armées ("brigadier of the armies"). The rank contrasts with the French sub-officer rank of brigadier. As with all French general officers, a French brigade general is titled "general" without any implication that he is an army general; for instance General De Gaulle never rose higher than brigade general.

Until 1793, a rank of brigadier des armées ("brigadier of the armies") existed in the French Army, which could be described as a senior colonel or junior brigade commander. The normal brigade command rank was field marshal (maréchal de camp) (which elsewhere is a more senior rank). A "brigadier of the armies" wore one-star and a "field marshal" wore two stars. During the French Revolution, the revolutionaries' drive to rationalise the state led to a change in the system of ranks. The rank of "brigadier of the armies" was abolished and the normal brigade command rank, field marshal, was replaced by brigade general. The rank of brigade general inherited the two stars of the rank of field marshal, explaining the absence since 1793 of a French rank with only one star.

Nowadays, a French général de brigade generally commands a brigade, which is the biggest permanent formation in the French army. The rank can also be awarded in an honorary fashion to retiring colonels. The insignias are two stars, worn on the shoulder are at the sleeve of the uniform, depending on the dress. Two different kepis are issued : the service kepi sports the two-starts, while the formal kepi features a large band of oak leaves (the kepi of a division general has two smaller such bands).

Charles de Gaulle, held the rank of brigade general. He was given a temporary promotion to this rank in May 1940 as commander of the 4th Armoured Reserve Division (4ème division cuirassée de réserve). However his authority as head of the Free French really came from being the only cabinet member outside occupied France, not from his military rank. As a reminder of his war position, he refused any further promotion.

• 

  Rank insignia of French Army a général de brigade and French Air Force général de brigade aérienne

• 

  Brigade General Charles de Gaulle, wearing the formal kepi.

• 

  Rank insignia of Gendarmerie a général de brigade

• 

  Rank insignia of French Foreign Legion général de brigade, who commands the entire French Foreign Legion.

• 

  A French général de brigade

Germany[link]

The equivalent modern German rank is brigadegeneral. The concept of a brigadier general rank is relatively new, as prior to 1945 the lowest German general officer rank was generalmajor, which was often considered equivalent to brigadier general in other armies.

Greece[link]

Hungary[link]

In Hungary the brigadier general is a relatively new military rank used from 1992. The army and the air force insignia are not different.

Indonesia[link]

In Indonesia, brigadir jenderal (abbreviated as "brigjen") is the fourth highest rank and the lowest general rank both in Polri and TNI. The insignia is a gold star.

Iran[link]

The equivalent rank for brigadier general in the Iranian army and air force is called sar-tip-dovom. It is above the rank of sar-hang (colonel) and below the rank of sar-tip (major general).

Notice that Iranian Revolutionary Guards also use this rank. The difference is in salutation. One refers an army or air force brigadier general as "amir sar-tip", while a revolutionary guard general is referred to as "sardar sar-tip".

As an unwritten rule which makes major general the highest Iranian military rank, and therefore a brigadier general is considered to be second highest rank of the Iranian military. It is normally the rank of the commander of the air force and (as a commodore, the equivalent rank) the Navy.

Israel[link]

In the Israel Defense Forces, the rank of brigadier general is called tat aluf and is the third highest rank, below aluf (major general) and rav aluf (lieutenant general or general), and above aluf mishne (colonel).

Jordan[link]

In the Jordanian military, the rank of brigadier general is known as amid, and it is higher than colonel (akeed) and lower than major general (liwa).

South Korea[link]

The rank of brigadier general is known in South Korea as junjang (Korean: 준장; hanja: 准將)^[7] and is a direct equivalent to the United States one-star rank, with very similar insignia. The military of North Korea does not technically maintain a brigadier general rank, but the rank of senior colonel (대좌, taejwa) which is above colonel (상좌, sangjwa) and below major general (소장, Sojang) is the effective equivalent.

Burma (Myanmar)[link]

The rank of brigadier general is known in Burma as bo mhu gyoke and is often the deputy commander of one of Burma's Regional Military Commands, commander of the light infantry division (LID) or Military Operation Commands. In civil service, a brigadier general often holds the office of deputy minister or director general of certain ministries.

Mexico[link]

In Mexico, brigade general is the rank below divisional general and, confusingly, the rank above brigadier general. A Mexican brigade general wears as rank insignia the arms of Mexico above two stars. (A Mexican brigadier general wears the arms of Mexico above one star.)

Pakistan[link]

The Pakistan Army has followed the British Army rank system since independence from the British Empire in 1947. However, the crown in the ranks has been replaced with a star and crescent, which symbolizes the sovereignty of the Government of Pakistan.

Brigadier general or brigadier, is an equivalent rank to commodore in the Pakistan Navy and air commodore in the Pakistan Air Force. In Pakistan Army and Marines, some officers have been promoted to brigadier general while others are promoted as brigadier.^{[citation needed]} However, brigadier or brigadier general are equivalent to each other. In the Pakistan Defense Forces, a brigadier (or brigadier-general) is a one-star rank general officer and are considered as one of the high-ranking military officers in Pakistan Armed Forces. Brigadiers or brigadier generals in Pakistan army, are the General Officer Commanding of the brigades which consists of approximately 3000–5000 men and women. Like other armies, brigadier rank is higher than colonel and but subordinated to two-star major generals.

Poland[link]

Prior to 2002, the Polish rank of generał brygady was equivalent to both the ranks of major general and brigadier general.

Portugal[link]

In the Portuguese Army and Air Force, brigadeiro-general is a temporary general rank for the colonels that have to exercise a special command. It is the equivalent of the commodore rank in the Portuguese Navy.

The rank was reintroduced in 1999. Before that, simply as brigadeiro, it existed from 1707 to 1864 and again from 1929 to 1947, not being considered a general rank. From 1947 to 1999, brigadeiro become the two-star general rank in the Portuguese Army. As two-star rank, it was substituted by the rank of major-general in 1999.

Spain[link]

In the Spanish Army and Spanish Air Force, general de brigada is the lowest rank of general officers. Its equivalent in the Navy is contraalmirante.

Sweden[link]

In the Swedish Army and Swedish Air Force, brigadgeneral is the lowest rank of general officers. Its equivalent in the Navy is flottiljamiral.

Turkey[link]

In the Turkish Army and the Turkish Air Force, the equivalent rank is tuğgeneral (the Turkish Navy equivalent would be tuğamiral). The name is derived from tugay, the Turkish word for a brigade. Both tugay and tuğ- as military terms may owe their origins to the older Turkish word tuğ, meaning horsetail, which was used as a symbol of authority and rank in Ottoman and pre-Ottoman times.

United Kingdom[link]

Brigadier-general was formerly a rank in the British Army and Royal Marines, and briefly in the Royal Air Force.

It first appeared in the army in the reign of James II,^[8] but did not exist in the Royal Marines until 1913.^[9]

It was abolished in both the army and the marines in 1922, being replaced in the army by the grade of colonel commandant (which already existed in the marines). Colonel commandant was in turn replaced by the grade of brigadier in the army in 1928, and at some time between World War II and 1957 in the marines.^[10][11]

From its formation on 1 April 1918 until 31 July 1919, the Royal Air Force maintained the rank of brigadier general. It was superseded by the rank of air commodore on the following day.

Brigadier-general was a temporary rank only, bestowed on a colonel or lieutenant-colonel (or on a colonel commandant in the marines) for the duration of a specific command.

The insignia for the rank was a crossed sword and baton on its own; higher grades of general at the time and still consist of this device with the addition of a star, crown or both for a full general.

Brigadier is the highest field officer rank (hence absence of the word "general"), whereas brigadier-general was the lowest general officer rank. However, the two ranks are considered equal.

The equivalent naval rank is commodore and the equivalent air force rank is air commodore.

United States[link]

President Zachary Taylor was a Brigadier General

See also[link]

• British Army officer rank insignia
• Comparative military ranks
• Military unit
• NATO Air Force officers
• NATO Army officers
• U.S. Army officer rank insignia
• United Kingdom and United States military ranks compared
• Wiktionary definition of General.

References and notes[link]

Look up gen in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Gen may refer to:

• Gen (film), 2006 Turkish horror film directed by Togan Gökbakar
• Gen language, the language of Togo
• Gen (Street Fighter), a video game character from the Street Fighter series
• Gen Fu, a video game character from the Dead or Alive series
• Chief Gen-san from Sky Girls
• Gen Otori, Ultraman Leo's alter ego from the 1974 namesake tokusatsu

Gen. or GEN may refer to:

• General officer, a high senior rank in the military
• Global Ecovillage Network
• Global Editors Network

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This article is about the pinball and video game designer. For the U.S. Air Force officer, see R. Stephen Ritchie.

Steven Scott Ritchie (born February 13, 1950)^[1] is an acclaimed pinball and video game designer. He has been called "The Master of Flow" by pinball aficionados due to the emphasis in his designs on ball speed, loops, and the like.^[2]

Ritchie recently left Incredible Technologies for Raw Thrills, a video game production house headed by former WMS employee Eugene Jarvis. He currently suffers from tinnitus and predicts that he will be deaf by 2013.^[3] Steve is the older brother of fellow pinball designer Mark Ritchie.

The Atari Years[link]

After serving a stint in Vietnam and Alaska in the United States Coast Guard from 1968-1972, Ritchie joined Atari in 1976^[4] and first worked on the assembly line as an electro-mechanical technician. Two years later, he was promoted to work at their fledgling pinball division, where he worked on his first game, Airborne Avenger. Ritchie earned the license to make a Superman-pinball based on the Superman comic book, but in the final stages of production of the table, he received an offer from Williams Electronics, a major pinball company, that Ritchie could not refuse.

The Williams Years[link]

Ritchie moved to Chicago, Illinois, the home of Williams' headquarters. His first game for the company, Flash (released in 1979), was noted for its revolutionary figure-8 design and the first pinball game to feature bright Flash Lamps. It would go on to be his best-selling pinball game, having sold 19,505 units. 1980 would be the year for Ritchie, when he designed Firepower (the first electronic pinball to feature multi-ball, as well as Lane Change), and eight months later, he designed Black Knight, which was noted for having the first two-level playfield and the patented "Magna-Save" feature (in which magnets help prevent outlane drains).

After 1981's Hyperball, Steve took a break from designing pinball games to design a video games at his newly-formed company, King Video Design. "Devastator" was the first 68000 microprocessor video game and it was a spectacular 3D flying-shooting game with remarkable graphics. Steve pioneered automated conversion of video-taped color images into objects in the video game system. After that, he returned to pinball with 1986's High Speed, which was based on a true story about him being chased by the police in his Porsche. High Speed's bill of materials was higher than other games, and some rival Williams designers nicknamed it "High Cost". The cost increase was minimal, and the game sold 17,080 units. It was the major title that revitalized the entire pinball market. After that, he released F-14 Tomcat in 1987, and in 1989, he released the sequel to 1980's Black Knight, Black Knight 2000, which was acclaimed for having perhaps one of the best musical soundtracks ever for a pinball game (composed by himself, Brian L. Schmidt, and Dan Forden). It was also one of the first games to feature a "Wizard Mode", called "The King's Ransom".

Next up was Rollergames (based on the TV show of the same name which was cancelled well before game production), it was a game with a loud and rowdy soundtrack and the first solid state game to feature mainstream advertising. Ritchie designed Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which featured the voice and likeness of Arnold Schwarzenegger. T2 was the first game by Williams to use a dot-matrix display (although Bally's Gilligan's Island beat it to the market, because T2 had a longer production schedule, and management at Williams felt that other games needed it first.) After T2, he designed The Getaway: High Speed II in 1992, a sequel to 1986's High Speed. In 1993, Ritchie released a widebody game, Star Trek: The Next Generation, which many pinball fans consider to be Ritchie's best game. For the game, Ritchie enlisted the entire cast of TNG, including Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, and Jonathan Frakes to reprise their roles. The game would sell 11,728 units. It was the last pinball machine to sell in the 5-digits. After he was finished with 1995's No Fear: Dangerous Sports, Ritchie left Williams, feeling that he could better serve Williams/Bally/Midway by producing video games at the newly-acquired Atari Games. 1996 was the beginning of the decline of pinball with gradually diminishing sales, eventually leading to the extinction of all pinball manufacturers except Stern Pinball.

Video games and other contributions[link]

Steve Ritchie returned to Atari Games in 1996 as a Senior Staff Producer. There, he would design and produce the racing game, California Speed, which sold 7,856 units for total sales of about $40 million, on a budget of $2 million, with a crew of 16 video programmers and artists.

Ritchie is also known to be an avid fan of pc games, motocross racing, and a dedicated dirt and street motorcyclist as well.

He is a voice actor for many of his own games, as well as Williams and Midway's video games. He is best known for playing the voice of Shao Kahn in the Mortal Kombat series (MKII, MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:SM). In an interview for the Australian publication Arcade and Flipper Pinball Review (December 2001 & March 2002 issues) he stated that he was the announcer in MK and MKII, along with coming up with the name of Mortal Kombat, which was just called 'Mortal' before his suggestion. Ritchie was also the voice of the Black Knight in both Black Knight and Black Knight 2000, the "Demon" in No Fear, the announcer in Midway's High Impact Football, the monotoned voice of Firepower, and other small parts in many Williams, Midway, and Stern games. He was also on the design team for Williams' Defender (video game).

Ritchie Returns: The Stern Years[link]

After designing and selling a few redemption games, he formed Steve Ritchie Productions (SRP) in 2002, and returned to pinball design contracting with Stern Pinball to distribute his games. For his first game for Stern, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, he once again enlisted Arnold Schwarzenegger to lend his voice and likeness to the game, and also re-assembled the same team who worked with him on the T2 pinball, including software programmer Dwight Sullivan and music composer Chris Granner. After T3, Ritchie released Elvis, which was released in time for the 50th anniversary of Elvis Presley's first song recording. Ritchie's third game for Stern was World Poker Tour. World Poker Tour was the first game to use Stern's new hardware, S.A.M., which is the successor to their older Whitestar platform. He has recently revealed in an interview that he was forced by Gary Stern to design the game [1]. Currently, Ritchie has just completed his fourth game for Stern, Spider-Man, using characters licensed from all three movies. Spider-Man was a great success and is still available for purchase.

After completing "24", a pinball machine based on the TV series of the same name, Ritchie was laid off from Stern along with most of the company's other pinball designers. A March 3, 2011 Press Release from Stern reported that Steve had returned to Stern to design the next generation of pinball machines. ^[5] His first game released after returning to Stern is AC/DC. ^[6] In March 2012 Ritchie conducted a comprehensive audio interview with Music Life Radio about his life and career, with focus on the AC/DC pinball game.

Steve Ritchie's games[link]

Atari[link]

• Airborne Avenger (1977)
• Superman (1979)
• California Speed (1996)

Williams[link]

• Flash (1979)
• Stellar Wars (1979)
• Firepower (1980)
• Black Knight (1980)
• Hyperball (1981)
• High Speed (1986)
• F-14 Tomcat (1987)
• Black Knight 2000 (1989)
• Rollergames (1990)
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
• The Getaway: High Speed II (1992)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation (1993; part of WMS' SuperPin series)
• No Fear: Dangerous Sports (1995)

Midway (Bally)[link]

• Elvira and the Party Monsters (1989; co-designed with Dennis Nordman and Jim Patla)
  • Ritchie did parts of the game, after original designer Dennis Nordman was severely injured in an off-road motorcycle accident.

Stern / Steve Ritchie Productions[link]

• Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
• Elvis (2004)
• World Poker Tour (2006)
• Spider-Man (2007)
• "24", based on 24(2009)
• AC/DC (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Steve Ritchie Productions

Roger Clinton Locher[1]
General John Vogt (L) with Capt Roger Locher on his return to Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base
Born	(1946-09-13) September 13, 1946 (age 65) Sabetha, Kansas[2]
Allegiance
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	Vietnam War

Maj. Robert Lodge (left) and Capt. Roger Locher (right) in the cockpit of their F-4D, seen earlier in 1972: the team already had two MiG-kills to their credit when they clashed with MiG-19s and MiG-21s on the morning of May 10, 1972.

Roger Clinton Locher (born September 13, 1946)^[3] is a former F-4D Phantom weapons officer and pilot who during the Vietnam War and Operation Linebacker was shot down only 64 km (40 mi) from Hanoi, North Vietnam.^[4] The 23 days Locher spent behind enemy lines evading capture was a record for downed airmen during the war.^[5] USAF General Vogt "shut down the war" and sent 119 aircraft to recover him. His rescue was the deepest inside North Vietnam during the entire War.

When his aircraft was shot down by a Shenyang J-6 on May 10, 1972, he was on his third combat tour and had over 407 combat missions.^[6][7] He was one of the leading MIG killers in Vietnam with three kills. No one saw him eject or his parachute open, and it was unknown whether he had died or been captured. Over the next two weeks, U.S. air crews in the area tried to raise him on the radio without success. The North Vietnamese did not add his name to the roster of captured airmen, which gave the Americans some hope. Traveling only at dusk and dawn, over three weeks Locher traveled about 12 miles (19 km), evading farmers and living off the land.

On June 1, Locher was finally able to successfully contact a flight of F-4 aircraft overhead. General John Vogt, commanding general of the Seventh Air Force, committed to rescue him and canceled the scheduled attack on Hanoi, diverting all of the available aircraft to assist in his rescue.^[5] Despite the proximity of the Yên Bái MiG airfield only 5 miles (8.0 km) away and its well-developed anti-aircraft defenses, there were no losses during his rescue.

Recruitment and training[link]

Locher participated in ROTC and joined the Air Force in 1969. He completed navigator training and was assigned to the F-4 Phantom II. He received transition training at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, and was then sent to the "Triple Nickel" 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, Udorn, Thailand.^[8]

MiGCAP patrol[link]

On February 21, 1972, Locher took part in the first U.S. Air Force aerial victory in four years at night over northeast Laos, about 90 miles (140 km) southwest of Hanoi. Maj. Robert A. Lodge was pilot and Locher was the weapon systems officer in an F-4D flying combat air patrol to interdict North Vietnamese MiGs (MIGCAP). The two men were the most experienced crew in Southeast Asia.^[9] Red Crown, the call sign for the radar-equipped USS Long Beach stationed in the northern part of the Gulf of Tonkin, "called out bandits (MIGs) at our 060° position and proceeded to vector us on an intercept,” recalls Maj. Lodge. During the air battle, they shot down a MiG-21.^[10]

Operation Linebacker[link]

Collings Foundation F-4D Phantom II marked as 555th TFS 66-7463, the same type of aircraft flown by Locher the day he was shot down.

On May 10, 1972, the first major day of air combat in Operation Linebacker, Locher's group was one of two flights of the F-4D MiGCap for the morning strike force. Oyster Flight, composed of four F-4s from the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, had three of its Phantoms equipped with the top secret Combat Tree IFF interrogators. The APX-80 electronic set could read the IFF signals of the transponders built into the MiGs so that North Vietnamese radar would not shoot down their own aircraft. Displayed on a scope in the WSO's cockpit, Combat Tree gave the Phantoms the ability to identify and locate MiGs when they were still beyond visual range.

On May 8, 1972, Major Robert Lodge and Locher responded to a request for assistance from Red Crown from fighters who were engaging MiGs near Yên Bái. Their element leader was Stephen Ritchie and Charles B. DeBellevue in Oyster 03.

We were about Mach 1.4, with the MIG about as fast as us in afterburner. I was low on the MIG, and I do not believe he was aware he was under attack. He was in a right turn, initially, then reversed to the left. I fired two AIM-7 missiles in ripple fire^{[notes 1]} at a distance of 4,500 feet, using a pure pursuit attack at about 20 degrees angle-off. Both missiles guided directly to the target. The first hit the MIG’s right wing, which was breaking up when the second missile hit the center of the fuselage.

They scored their third MiG kill, placing them in the lead of all USAF crews then flying in Southeast Asia.

Two days later, on May 10, at 9:23 a.m., Oyster Flight was warned by EC-121 Disco over Laos, and then by the US Navy radar picket ship USS Chicago Red Crown, of four MiGs headed towards them. These were from the 921st Fighter Wing. Four J-9s were also flying CAP to protect the Thac Ba hydroelectric power station.^[11]:59 The Americans engaged an equal number of MiG-21s head-on, scattering them. Lodge and Locher identified two hostile contacts 50 miles (80 km) miles south of Yên Bái. They attacked in a modified fluid-four formation and accelerated to 1.4 mach. At 9:48 they fired two AIM-7 missiles, and the second destroyed one of the MiGs.

Oyster Flight shot down two more MiGs. The second MIG-21 was downed by Lodge’s wingman, 1st Lt. John D. Markle, and his WSO, Capt. Stephen D. Eaves. A few minutes later Capt. Richard S. “Steve” Ritchie and Capt. Charles B. DeBellevue, his weapon systems officer, shot down a third MiG. Lodge and Locher nearly got the fourth MiG-21, but fell victim to a MiG tactic dubbed "Kuban tactics" after those of the Soviet WWII ace Alexander Pokryshkin,^[12] in which a GCI-controlled flight of four Shenyang J-6s were launched after the MiG-21s so that they could be steered behind the American fighters maneuvering to attack the MiG-21s. Pilot Nguyen Manh Tung of No. 2 Flight^[11] came up from below in his J-6 and hit Lodge and Locher's F-4D Phantom, serial 65-0784, with his three large, 30-mm cannons as they were lining up a second shot on another MiG-21.^[13]

Ejection and evasion[link]

S-75 missile battery in North Vietnam during 1965

Lodge and Locher thought for a few seconds their aircraft was still flyable, but then figured out that the right engine showed zero compression, and the aircraft yawed to the left. Lodge tried the stick and it was dead; the aircraft's hydraulic system was knocked out. Lodge tried the autopilot but it didn't respond. The rear of the jet was on fire, and as the plane yawed the slipstream pushed the flames up over Locher's canopy. Locher later recalled, "We immediately went out of control, flopping from side to side. Then fire started coming in the back of the cockpit. It seared my canopy with bubbles and I couldn’t see out any more. The airplane slowed down and we went into a flat spin." Locher told Lodge that it was getting too hot and he'd better get out. Lodge looked over his right shoulder at Locher and said, "Well, you better eject then."^[14]

Lodge had about three weeks previously told fellow squadron members, as he had done several times before, that he would not allow himself to be captured because of his extensive knowledge of classified and sensitive information.^[15] Locher successfully ejected at about 8,000 feet (2,400 m) but because the remaining planes were busy with the other MiGs, and due to smoke, no one saw his parachute canopy.^[4] A MiG-21 buzzed Locher as he descended, so he knew the enemy was aware he had survived.^[14] He estimated it took about 30 seconds for the jet to impact the ground, but never saw Lodge's chute.^[14]

Locher was afraid to use his URC-64 rescue radio as he parachuted because it was difficult to remove from the zippered pocket of his survival vest and he was not sure he could get it back in. He figured out his rough location and managed to steer his chute about 2,000 yards (1,800 m) away from the plane burning below him and towards a nearby mountain side.^[14] After he landed, he couldn't hide his parachute because it was stuck in the trees overhead.

He removed a couple of essential items from his survival pack and left the remainder behind. His survival vest contained a pistol, two pints of water, a first aid kit, insect repellent, mosquito netting, and a knife. He knew from prior briefings that he could not expect SAR this deep in North Vietnam, north of the Red River. Once on the ground and under the trees, he could not hear any jets overhead. He also knew his radio could not penetrate the dense jungle canopy overhead.^[14]

Locher listened to hear if a search party was looking for him. He camouflaged his trail for about 100 yards (91 m) and then climbed the eastern side of the mountain to its peak. He got his bearings and then hid in bushes on the west slope. For three days, Locher listened as a search party of local farmers beat the bushes up and down the east side of the mountain, searching for him. He hid in a brush pile and at one point over the next three days, a boy came within 30 feet (9.1 m) of his hiding place.^[4][14] In the evening he returned to the peak. On the second day he picked up radio traffic from American aircraft almost 100 miles (160 km) to his south, but they did not hear his radio beeper or voice.^[16]

He decided his best chance for rescue was to cross the forested, hilly terrain and get to the heavily cultivated Red River Valley, swim the river, and work his way to the sparsely inhabited mountains to the south. He figured it would take him 45 days. He traveled only at first light and at dusk, avoiding the local farmers, and living off the land.^[4][16]

He was able to find plenty of water but only occasionally fruit and berries to eat. He evaded capture and covered over 19 km (12 mi), gradually losing 30 pounds (14 kg) and his strength.^[8] On the 10th day he came within 5 feet (1.5 m) of being discovered. Following a well-used trail early one morning, he suddenly had to evade local farmers. He hid in a nearby field where there was little concealment, but pulled leaves and debris over himself. He lay there all day as children from a village he discovered a short distance away played in his vicinity. At one point a water buffalo nearly stepped on him, and a boy came to fetch the animal, only a few feet from Locher. That evening he spotted a hill near the village alongside the Red River, the last hill before the wide open fields of the Red River basin. He was about 5 miles (8.0 km) from Yen Bai Airfield.^[16]

He hid on the hill for the next 13 days and watched for American aircraft. On June 1, 1972, he was finally able to contact a flight of American jets overhead, calling, "Any U.S. aircraft, if you read Oyster 1 Bravo, come up on Guard".^[17] Steve Ritchie, in one of the F-4 aircraft overhead and who had witnessed Locher's jet fall out of the sky, remembered Locher's call sign and answered his call. Locher calmly responded, "Guys I've been down here a long time, any chance of picking me up?"^[6] Ritchie replied, "You bet!" Locher's transmissions left some Americans who did not hear his call in doubt about the authenticity of his message, and they believed that the NVA may have manipulated a POW into impersonating him, setting a trap for the would-be rescuers.^[4]

Search and rescue[link]

A SAR mission of several A-1E and two HH-53 with F-4 and F- 105 fighters providing air protection was launched that same day but was driven off by heavy anti-aircraft fire and MiGs.^[4][7] The A-1 Skyraider and HH-53C pilots came under attack from a MiG but eluded the enemy fighter in a narrow canyon. The rescue force then dodged missiles, another MiG and gunfire, but failed to get through to Locher that day.^[18]

On June 2, 1972, General John Vogt, commander of the 7th Air Force, consulted with Army MACV commander General Frederick C. Weyand. Vogt canceled the entire strike mission set for Hanoi that day. He dedicated all the available resources, over 150 aircraft, to rescuing Locher.^[6] The direct task force of 119 aircraft^[18] included two HH-53 rescue helicopters, bombers, and an array of F-4 escorts, EB-66s, A-1Es, F105G Weasels, and KC135 tankers.^[19] Vogt said,

I had to decide whether we should risk the loss of maybe a dozen airplanes and crews just to get one man out. Finally I said to myself, Goddamn it, the one thing that keeps our boys motivated is the certain belief that if they go down, we will do absolutely everything we can to get them out. If that is ever in doubt, morale would tumble. That was my major consideration. So I took it on myself. I didn't ask anybody for permission. I just said, "Go do it!"^[20]:30

The Yên Bái MiG airfield,^[19] about 60 miles (97 km) northwest of Hanoi, was one of the most important and well-defended Vietnamese People's Air Force airbases in North Vietnam. The aircraft bombed and strafed around Yên Bái Airfield for two hours, reducing enemy opposition so that the helicopters could get in. Fortunately for the Americans, during the second half of May 1972 their increasingly fierce attacks on Yen Bai had forced elements of the VPAF 925th Fighter Regiment to relocate to Gia Lam Airfield.^[11] Capt. Ronald E. Smith in an A-1E guided Capt. Dale Stovall, piloting a HH-53 from the 40th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, to Locher's position. Only when Locher rose out of the jungle canopy riding the jungle penetrator were all of the Americans sure it was him. Despite their proximity to Yen Bai airfield, no aircraft were lost during Locher's rescue.^[5] "We shut down the war to go get Roger Locher," Stovall later said.^[18]

Locher was flown back to Udorn. The first person to greet him was General Vogt, who had flown up from Saigon in a T-39.^[5] Capt. Locher had successfully evaded capture for 23 days, a record for the Vietnam War.^[4] The evening of his return, he was greeted at the Officers Club by hundreds of individuals with an ovation lasting 20 minutes.^[5]

Recognition[link]

Capt. Stovall had twice flown his HH-53 Jolly Green Giant helicopter further into North Vietnam than had ever been done before. For their efforts in rescuing Locher, both Capt. Ronald Smith and Stovall were awarded the Air Force Cross. Stovall's citation described how "he willingly returned to this high threat area, braving intense ground fire, to recover the downed airman from deep in North Vietnam.".^[21] Stovall was also recognized with the 1973 Jabara Award for Airmanship.

Post war[link]

After his return to the States, he attended pilot training and was assigned to the Phantom—this time in the front seat. Roger flew the F-4 in New Mexico, Alaska, and Florida before transitioning to the F-16 and serving in instructor and flight commander positions.^[8] He later played a key role in the early days of the super-secret "black program" that produced the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter.^[22] He retired in Sabetha, Kansas, where he resided as of April, 2010.^[18][23]

In popular culture[link]

The TV series Dogfights on the History Channel depicted the dogfight of May 10, 1972 in Season 2, Episode 10, The Bloodiest Day shown on December 3, 2007.

Notes[link]

References[link]

Keith Kerr, Colonel, USA-ret, and BG, CSMR-ret., (born 1936) is a retired United States Army Reserve Colonel, who later was given the rank of Brigadier General in the California State Military Reserve, part of the California State Defense Forces who in 2003 became one of the highest ranking military officers to be openly gay.

Service Record[link]

Kerr enlisted as a private at Fort Ord on September 21, 1953 and served in the 513th Military Intelligence Group in Germany after the Korean War. After leaving Active Army service, Kerr served in the U. S. Army Reserve and was commissioned a First Lieutenant in June 1960. Kerr retired from the U. S. Army Reserve in 1986 as a Colonel.

Kerr was commissioned in the California State Military Reserve, a state defense force, and was given the rank of Brigadier General on February 21, 1991. The brigadier general rank in a state organization is not recognized by the federal government where his U.S. Army rank for retirement purposes remains a Colonel.

During his tenure with the California State Military Reserve, Kerr was the Inspector General, Chief of Staff, Commanding General of the Northern Area Command at the Alameda Naval Supply Depot in Alameda, California.^[1]

Civilian Record[link]

He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and has a Master’s Degree from San Francisco State University.

As a member of the faculty at City College of San Francisco, Mr. Kerr was Chair of the Business Department, Dean of Instruction, and Dean of Instructional Support and Special Assistant to the President before retiring in 1995. After that time, he continued teaching as an adjunct professor.

He currently lives in Santa Rosa, California.

Gay Activist[link]

Kerr (left) during a 2005 announcement by Congressman Marty Meehan of introduction of ultimately unsuccessful legislation to repeal the Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy

On December 10, 2003, Kerr revealed in an interview with the New York Times that he is gay.^[2]

The interview was critical of the Don't ask, don't tell policy. Also coming out in the interview were Brigadier General Virgil A. Richard of the Army and Rear Admiral Alan M. Steinman of the United States Coast Guard. At the time they were the highest ranking members of the military to acknowledge being gay. In the interview he said, "The culture of the military is that you go along and conform ... And you keep your private life to yourself."

He became a member of the Servicemembers’ Legal Defense Network. Kerr was a supporter of John Kerry in his 2004 Presidential run^[3] and was listed on a Hillary Clinton press release as a member of the Steering Committee of the "LGBT Americans For Hillary."^[4]

CNN-YouTube Debate controversy[link]

On November 29, 2007, Kerr submitted a YouTube video that was used as a question in the Republican Presidential Debate in St. Petersburg, Florida on CNN. Kerr was also present in the audience and was asked to speak in which he said:

My name is Keith Kerr, from Santa Rosa, California. I'm retired brigadier general with 43 years of service, and I'm a graduate of the Special Forces Officer Course, the Command and General Staff Course, and the Army War College. And I'm an openly gay man. I want to know why you think that American men and women in uniform are not professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians.^[5]

After the candidates responded Anderson Cooper asked him if he got an answer to his question to which he replied, "With all due respect, I did not get an answer from the candidates."

Kerr's question generated criticism of CNN for not disclosing Kerr's Clinton ties. CNN had paid Kerr's traveling expenses to the debate^[6] but stated that it was unaware of the connection with the Clinton campaign at the time. When asked if anyone affiliated with the Clinton campaign “put you up to the idea of asking this question,” Mr. Kerr stated that “[t]his was a private initiative of my own.”^[7] CNN pulled Kerr's question and response in subsequent replays.

References[link]