Arnold W. Braswell

Arnold Webb Braswell (born October 3, 1925) is a retired American air force lieutenant general and command pilot who was commander in chief of Pacific Air Forces, with headquarters at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii. His command comprised more than 34,000 Air Force operational and support personnel stationed at eight major bases and more than 87 facilities principally located in Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Hawaii.

Biography
Braswell was born in 1925 to Claiborne and Marguerite Braswell in Minden, Louisiana, and graduated in 1942 from Minden High School. He attended Louisiana State University for two years and in 1944 entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. First captain of the corps of cadets, Braswell graduated from West Point in 1948 with honors and earned a commission as a second lieutenant in the newly-organized U.S. Air Force. In 1967, he earned a Master of Business Administration degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. In 1962, Braswell completed the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. In 1967, he graduated from the National War College at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, D.C.

After completing flying training at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, and at Williams Air Force Base in Arizona, he became in September 1949, a member of the 33rd Fighter Wing at Otis Air Force Base in Massachusetts, where he flew F-86 Sabrejets.

In 1952, during the Korean War, Braswell flew 155 combat missions in jet fighters as a member of the 49th Fighter Wing, Taegu Air Base, South Korea, and the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing at Kimpo Air Base, South Korea.

From September 1952 to September 1955, he was a flight instructor and operations officer in the 3600th Combat Crew Training Group at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. When the U.S. Air Force Academy opened in 1955 at Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Braswell was assigned as commander of one of the original four cadet squadrons and served in that capacity for three years.

In October 1958 he was again assigned to the 49th Fighter Wing, which had been relocated to Etain Air Base in France, where for a time he supervised training of French and Turkish pilots in F-100s and then commanded the 7th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany.

The general returned to the United States in August 1961 to attend the Air Command and Staff College. He transferred to Washington, D.C., in July 1962 and was assigned to Headquarters U.S. Air Force in the Directorate of Plans, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Operations. In August 1966, Braswell entered the National War College and concurrently completed his master's degree in business administration at George Washington University in 1967.

He began a tour of duty in the Vietnam War in July 1967 as director of plans at Headquarters of the 7th Air Force, in Saigon. Though a staff officer, he flew 40 combat missions, most of them in F-4 Phantoms.

Following his return from Southeast Asia in August 1968, Braswell became the director of operations for the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina. He was again assigned to Air Force headquarters in August 1969 in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Operations, where he served initially as an Air Staff planning representative in Joint Staff planning conferences. In April 1970, he became deputy director for force development in the Directorate of Plans, and in February 1972, he became deputy director of plans. In February 1973, Braswell assumed command of the United States Logistics Group in Anakra, Turkey.

Braswell was assigned to Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, Belgium, as assistant chief of staff for operations from September 1974 to June 1977. In July 1977 he returned to the United States as director for plans and policy (J-5), Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, D.C. In June 1978, he became commander of Tactical Air Command's 9th Air Force with headquarters at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. While there he also served as commander of the Air Force elements assigned to the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force. He assumed his present command in June 1981.

The general is a command pilot and has logged more than 5,500 flying hours, most of these in jet fighters. His military decorations and awards include the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters.

He was promoted to lieutenant general July 1, 1977, with date of rank listed as June 28, 1977. He retired on October 1, 1983.

After retiring from the U.S. Air Force, he served as the President of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) for 10 years. During this time, he served on the Board of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in order to help set new standards for refrigerant gases following the deprecation and phasing out of Chloro-Fluoro Carbons (CFCs). After retirement he also performed several years of volunteer civic activities with the public school technical training programs in the Virginia counties of Fairfax and Arlington.