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SSgt B. Mark Welsh (Mustang)
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Campbell, Harold Norman, Maj Gen.
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Date of Passing Nov 18, 1996
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MAJOR GENERAL H.N. CAMPBELL Retired June 30, 1993, Died November 18, 1996
Major General H.N. Campbell wass deputy chief of staff for plans and programs, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
General Campbell was born in East Liverpool, Ohio, in 1940, and later became a resident of Florida. He was appointed to the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1957 and graduated with a bachelor of science degree in 1961. He earned a master of science degree in systems management from the University of Southern California in 1974. The general completed Air War College as a distinguished graduate in 1975, the Stanford Executive Senior Management Program in 1981, and the Harvard Program for National and International Security in 1988.
Upon graduation from the academy, the general received undergraduate pilot training at Reese Air Force Base, Texas. He remained there as an instructor pilot in T-33s, T-37s and T-38s until August 1966, when he was assigned to Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., for combat crew training. In March 1967 he began a combat tour at Bien Hoa, Da Nang and Khe Sanh air bases, South Vietnam, flying 300 missions in 0-1s and 0-2s, including 100 over North Vietnam. From January 1968 to July 1969 General Campbell was assigned to the academy as an air officer commanding. He then became a tactical officer there. In January 1971, after completing F-4 operational training at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., he returned to Southeast Asia with the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing, Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand. There he flew 150 more combat missions in F-4Es while serving as flight commander, chief of the command post and wing executive officer.
His next assignment was as a tactical forces programs officer, Directorate of Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C., in January 1972. After completing Air War College in July 1975, General Campbell was assigned as deputy commander for maintenance, 50th Tactical Fighter Wing, Hahn Air Base, West Germany. He remained there for a year and then was transferred to the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing, Bitburg Air Base, West Germany, where he successively served as deputy commander for operations, vice commander and commander, flying F-4s and F-15s.
Returning to Air Force headquarters in February 1981, General Campbell was assigned to the Directorate of International Programs, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Programs and Resources, He served successively as assistant director for bases and units, director of forces, deputy director of international programs, deputy director of programs and chairman of the Program Review Committee. In October 1984 he was assigned as vice commander of the Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah. In September 1985 General Campbell became deputy chief of staff for logistics, Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein Air Base, West Germany. He became deputy director of the Defense Logistics Agency, Cameron Station, Alexandria, Va., in October 1987. In October 1988 he was assigned as assistant deputy chief of staff for logistics and engineering, Air Force headquarters. He became deputy chief of staff for plans and programs, Headquarters Air Force Logistics Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, in March 1991. He assumed his current position in July 1992.
The general is a command pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours, of which nearly 1,000 were in combat. His military awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, Distinguished Flying Cross with four oak leaf clusters, Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with 29 oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, Republic of Vietnam Air Gallantry Cross with silver wings and Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm. He holds an Army parachutist rating, and wears the Senior Missile and Senior Maintenance badges.
He was promoted to major general July 1, 1987, with same date of rank.
General Campbell died on 18 Novembr 1996 and was buried in Section 7-A of Arlington National Cemetery.
Other Comments:
I served under the General (then a Colonel) in Bitburg Germany 1979-1981. Col Campbell was the Wing Commander of the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing. Campbell was a patriotic American with a commanding presence. Even though it was the Cold War during that time and the Soviet Union was only a matter of minutes flight time away, one still felt secure knowing that Col Campbell was in charge. Many times while pulling duty at the Entry Control Point at Bitburg, Col Campbell would enter the area to get in flight time. His mind would be on other things as he silently returned my salute .... but when he returned from flying his F-15 Eagle, he'd be like a kid in a candy store as he exited my control point. Often he would stop and talk about the beauty he'd just been a part of as he had taken his jet up and "touched the face of God". I had and still have a great respect for General H.N. Campbell ... a man that was born to fly!
Rest in Peace, Sir.
1991-1993, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
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Best Moment I did not know if this should be in the best moment or worst moment of his career ..... all he did was speak the truth about then President Clinton and was drummed out of the military. (excerpt below)
General to Be Disciplined For Disparaging President By ERIC SCHMITT Published: June 16, 1993 An Air Force inquiry has concluded that a two-star general made disparaging remarks about President Clinton, and the general now faces disciplinary action that will effectively end his career, senior Air Force officials said today. The Air Force inquiry found that the officer, Maj. Gen. Harold N. Campbell, called Mr. Clinton a "dope-smoking," "skirt-chasing," "draft-dodging" Commander in Chief, in a speech last month in the Netherlands. Senior military officers are frequently asked at Congressional hearings to give their personal opinions on military policies, but it is extremely rare for an officer to ridicule his commander openly, especially the President. General Campbell's superior, Gen. Ronald W. Yates, the head of the Air Force Materiel Command, is expected to meet with the general on Thursday and give him one of two types of written reprimands: either a written reprimand or a more serious written rebuke that typically includes forfeiting pay. General Yates has ruled out a court-martial, Air Force officials said. A Tense Relationship given the fierce competition for advancement in today's shrinking military, any professional blemish virtually dooms an officer's chances for promotion. And if a senior officer is passed over for promotion, his military career is considered finished. General Campbell, a decorated former fighter pilot who served two tours of duty in Vietnam, declined to comment today, an Air Force spokesman said. He has made no public statements on his comments at an awards banquet last month. The general's remarks, which one official familiar with the inquiry said were probably meant to be "an ice breaker" at the beginning of the speech, were the harshest public rebuke of Mr. Clinton by a military official. Despite efforts by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the White House to patch up their differences, many military officers still harbor animosity toward Mr. Clinton for his plans to reduce military spending and allow homosexuals to serve openly in the armed forces, and for his avoiding the draft during the Vietnam War. At the urging of his senior military advisers, Mr. Clinton has tried to win the approval of the armed services. In the past few months, Mr. Clinton has flown to the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, attended a parade at the Marine Corps barracks here and given the commencement address at West Point. 'Very Bad,' Clinton says responding to questions from reporters today, Mr. Clinton said he had not seen the final report and would not intervene while the Air Force was handling the inquiry. "For me, personally, I didn't care," the President said. "People say whatever they want to say about me personally." The President added, "But for a general officer to say that about the Commander in Chief, if that happened, is a very bad thing." Until last month, General Campbell, 53, was deputy chief of staff for plans and programs at the Air Force Materiel Command, which has its headquarters at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. He had been scheduled to transfer to the Washington area to take command of the Defense Fuel Supply Center, a unit of the Defense Logistics Agency. That transfer has been delayed pending the outcome of the inquiry. The furor stemmed from remarks General Campbell gave in a speech to 250 American service members and their spouses on May 24 at the awards banquet, near a Dutch air base where United States forces are stationed.
Details of General Campbell's comments filtered back to the United States, alarming top Air Force commanders so much that Lieut. Gen. Dale W. Thompson Jr., the vice commander of the Air Force Materiel Command, was dispatched to the Netherlands last week to interview people who attended the speech.
General Yates declined to comment on the inquiry's findings, a spokesman said today. General Thompson was traveling today and unavailable for comment, his office said. Motive Is Irrelevant
A senior Air Force official familiar with the three-page inquiry and its accompanying witness statements said General Thompson interviewed about two dozen people. Virtually all remembered General Campbell's remarks about Mr. Clinton, but people had differing versions of the context and tone.
"They weren't in anger or in disdain," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "I think it was meant as an ice breaker, but it's a fine line between what's construed as a joke and what's uncomplimentary and contemptuous. Regardless of the motivation, they were in very poor taste and deserve punishment."
The military's lawbook, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, says any commissioned officer found to have used "contemptuous words" against the President may be court-martialed. But the Air Force has never court-martialed a general officer in its 46-year history.
If General Yates issues the more serious written rebuke, called an Article 15, General Campbell can appeal to the Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Merrill A. McPeak. The lesser reprimand cannot be appealed.
Two senior officers who know General Campbell well said it was unclear if he would challenge any disciplinary action. In instances like this, senior officers often request early retirement and can be demoted a rank or two in the process.
Last summer, the Air Force retired Donald L. Kaufman as a colonel from his last rank, major general, a two-rank demotion, after he illegally brought back from the Persian Gulf war two AK-47 rifles, a rocket-propelled grenade and a hand grenade, and then tried to get an aide to get rid of the war booty.
