From AFHRA: Lieutenant General James R. Clapper Jr. is [was] director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C., and the senior uniformed intelligence officer in the Department of Defense. He is also the manager of the General Defense Intelligence Program. As director of DIA, General Clapper is responsible for a combat support agency composed of military and civilian personnel stationed worldwide. As director of the GDIP, he manages selected intelligence resources for all services as part of the National Foreign Intelligence Program.
After a brief period of enlisted service in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, General Clapper transferred to the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program. He was commissioned in 1963 as a distinguished military graduate from the University of Maryland. He commanded a signals intelligence detachment in Thailand (where he flew 73 combat support missions in EC-47s), a signals intelligence wing at Fort George G. Meade, Md., and the Air Force Technical Applications Center, Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. The general served as director of intelligence for three of the unified commands: U.S. Forces Korea, U.S. Pacific Command and Strategic Air Command. Also, he served as senior intelligence officer for the Air Force.
EDUCATION
1963 Bachelor of science degree in political science, University of Maryland
1970 Master of science degree in political science, St. Mary's University, Texas
1973 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
1975 Distinguished graduate, Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
1976 Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
1979 National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
1990 Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security, Harvard University, Mass.
1990 Harvard Defense Policy Seminar, Harvard University, Mass.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. May 1963 - March 1964, student, Signal Intelligence Officers Course, Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas
2. March 1964 - December 1965, analytic branch chief, Air Force Special Communications Center, Kelly Air Force Base, Texas
3. December 1965 - December 1966, watch officer and air defense analyst, 2nd Air Division (later, 7th Air Force), Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam
4. December 1966 - June 1970, aide to the commander and command briefer, Air Force Security Service, Kelly Air Force Base, Texas
5. June 1970 - June 1971, commander, Detachment 3, 6994th Security Squadron, Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand
6. June 1971 - August 1973, military assistant to the director, National Security Agency, Fort George G. Meade, Md.
7. August 1973 - August 1974, aide to the commander and intelligence staff officer, Headquarters Air Force Systems Command, Andrews Air Force Base, Md.
8. August 1974 - September 1975, distinguished graduate, Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
9. September 1975 - June 1976, chief, signal intelligence branch, Headquarters U.S. Pacific Command, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii
10. June 1976 - August 1978, chief, signal intelligence branch, J-23, Headquarters U.S. Pacific Command, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii
11. August 1978 - June 1979, student, National War College, National Defense University, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
12. June 1979 - January 1980, Washington area representative for electronic security command, deputy commander, Fort George G. Meade, Md.
13. February 1980 - April 1981, commander, 6940th Electronic Security Wing, Fort George G. Meade, Md.
14. April 1981 - June 1984, director for intelligence plans and systems, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
15. June 1984 - May 1985, commander, Air Force Technical Applications Center, Patrick Air Force Base, Fla.
16. June 1985 - June 1987, assistant chief of staff for intelligence, U.S. Forces Korea, and deputy assistant chief of staff for intelligence, Republic of Korea and U.S. Combined Forces Command
17. July 1987 - July 1989, director for intelligence, Headquarters U.S. Pacific Command, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii
18. July 1989 - March 1990, deputy chief of staff for intelligence, Headquarters Strategic Air Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
19. April 1990 - November 1991, assistant chief of staff for intelligence, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
20. November 1991 - present, director, Defense Intelligence Agency and General Defense Intelligence Program, Washington, D.C.
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Non-rated air crew, space operations, missile
Flight hours: 700
Aircraft flown: EC-47, EC-135
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters
Bronze Star Medal with oak leaf cluster
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Medal with oak leaf cluster
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal
French Order of National Merit (Commander)
Republic of Korea Order of National Security of Merit, Chonsu Medal
National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant Jun 8, 1963
First Lieutenant Jan 8, 1965
Captain Mar 16, 1967
Major Nov 1, 1973
Lieutenant Colonel Apr 1, 1976
Colonel Feb 11, 1980
Brigadier General Oct 1, 1985
Major General Sep 1, 1988
Lieutenant General Nov 15, 1991
(Current as of November 1993)
Other Comments:
Vietnam War/Defense Campaign (1965)
From Month/Year
March / 1965
To Month/Year
December / 1965
Description This period was from March 2, 1965-January 30, 1966.
On June 29. I966. the USAF bombed petroleum storage and distribution facilities for the first time in the immediate vicinity of Hanoi and Haiphong, after political leaders authorized limited and specific strikes within the buffer zones for these cities. Gen. William W. Momyer replaced General Moore as Seventh Air Force Commander on July l. The United States expanded the Rotuwo Tittmou campaign as of July 9 to include petroleum targets in the northeast and rail lines and highways between China and Hanoi. although the buffer zone on the border limited targets. American aircraft also flew armed reconnaissance over North Vietnam.
On July 30. 1966. the USAF bombed targets in the dernilitariaed zone (DMZ) to counter the build-up of North Vietnamese forces there. By September the U.S. air campaign against North Vietnam had destroyed or damaged two-thirds of the enemy's petroleum storage capacity. several thousand trucks and watercraft. hundreds of rail cars and bridges. and numerous ammunition and supply storage areas. Beginning on February 14. I967. USAF aircraft hit additional strategic targets in North Vietnam, knocking out major power plants. and railyard repair facilities. But these results had little effect on the enemy's ability to carry on the war. because the country possessed only a small industrial base and imported most of its military materiel. In the face of extensive air attacks. North Vietnam further strengthened it's air defenses. By January 1967, the United States had lost 45 aircraft within 2 years. Anti-aircraft guns and SAMs accounted for most of the losses. but MiGs continued to challenge U.S. air strikes.
On January 2 the Seventh Air Force enticed a large MiG-2| force over North Vietnam into battle against F-4s. The USAF pilots destroyed 7 MiGs within 12 minutes without a loss. Four days later. On January 6. the Seventh destroyed 2 more MiGs. and the North Vietnamese temporarily abandoned aerial combat to regroup and retrain. In South Vietnam Allied forces continued search and destroy operations. blunting new Viet Cong and North Vietnamese offensives. Between July 14 and August 4, 1966. U.S. Marines and South Vietnamese troops battled North Vietnam Army forces near Quang Tri. 20 miles south of the DMZ. Later. between October I5 and November 26. the Allies engaged in a major battle with Viet Cong and NVA forces northwest of Tay Ninh. near the Cambodian border. 60 miles northwest of Saigon. Enemy resistance was light at first. but on November 4. as ARVN and U.S. troops approached storage areas, the Viet Cong and NVA counterattaclted. The Allies responded by airlifting more troops. including elements of the U.S. Army’s 1st. 4th, and 25th Infantry Divisions. and the l73rd Airborne Brigade. The USAF provided close air suppon. and between November 8 and 25. B-52s bombed targets in the area. The Allies drove the enemy from the region temporarily. seizing weapons. ammunition. food. and other supplies that the Communist forces left behind.
The next year. between Febmary and May I967, U.S. Army units joined ARVN forces to retum to Tay Ninh Province, about $0 miles north of Saigon and 15 miles northeast of Tay Ninh. Seventh Air Force C-l30s drtmped American paratroopers near the Cambodian border to cut off the Viet Cong retreat. The airlifters also flew reinforcements and supplies to the ground troops during this operation. With the help of forward air controllers flying O-1s. Air Force F-I00 and F-4 pilots provided close air support. and AC-47 gunship crews illuminated targets and conducted air strikes at night. Again, the enemy withdrew into Cambodia. leaving behind weapons. supplies. and ammunition.
In the panhandle of Laos, the USAF pounded enemy forces on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. while in northem Laos U.S. pilots supported Allied forces under attack. By August 1966 Laotian troops fighting Pathet Lao insurgents had advanced. with the aid of U.S. close air support. to Nam Bac. only 45 miles west of the North Vietnamese border and about 55 miles northeast of Luang Prabang. an ancient city on the Mekong River some 130 miles north of Vientiane. The Laotian gains were short lived, however, and by February 2. I967. the insurgents had regained lost territory and were in a position to attack the airfield at Luang Prabang.
