PUBLIC AFFAIRS LEADERS

USAF Public Affairs Directors: 1918 - Present

USAF Public Affairs Directors
1918 - Present

A Proud Tradition

The first military person to be "officially" responsible for dealing with news media was then Major Douglas MacArthur who, in 1916, was made Chief, Bureau of Information while serving as a junior member of the Army General Staff. It was an "additional duty." Other famous officers -- like Air Force General "Hap" Arnold, pictured above -- also had "Information/public relations" assignments at some point in their careers.

Listed below are those who have held the primary "public relations" job for the U.S. Air Force and its' predecessors beginning in 1918 with the establishment of the Division of Miltary Aeronautics.

The list shows the individual's rank when assigned to the "Information/public relations" position. Asterisks indicate the subsequent rank attained. (* = Brig Gen, ** = Maj Gen, etc.) An "(OH)" indicates a clickable link to that person's Oral History while "(BIO)" indicates a clickable link to that person's official USAF Biography.

Army Air Corps
and
US Army Air Forces
Asst Exec, Division of Military Aeronautics

Major John A. Drexel

July 1918 - December 1918

OIC, Aeronautical Information Branch

Major John A. Drexel

December 1918 - January 1919

Chief, Information Group

Major Horace M. Hickam

January 1919 - January 1921

Chief, Information Division

Major Horace M. Hickam

January 1921 - January 1923

Unknown

January 1923 - February 1925

Major Henry "Hap" Arnold (BIO) *****

February 1925 - March 1926

Major Hubert R. Harmon (BIO) ***

March 1926 - February 1927

Major Robert L. Walsh (BIO) **

February 1927 - July 1927

Captain Burdette S. Wright

July 1927 - December 1928

Major Ira Lonanecker

December 1928 - December 1931

Unknown

December 1931 - June 1933

Lt. Col. Walter R. Weaver (BIO) **

June 1933 - September 1934

Lt. Col. John D. Reardon

September 1934 - July 1936

Colonel Harrison H.C. Richards

July 1936 - June 1937

Acting Chief, Information Division

Lt. Col. Ira. C. Eaker (BIO) ****

June 1937 - September 1939

Chief, Information Division

Colonel Robert Candee (BIO) *

September 1939 - November 1940

Chief, Intelligence Division

Colonel Robert C. Candee (BIO) *

November 1940 - July 1941

Lt. Col. James G. Taylor

July 1941 - September 1941

Chief, Public Relations Branch

Lt. Col. Arthur I. Ennis

September 1941 - June 1942

Chief, Public Relations Division

Lt. Col. Arthur I. Ennis

June 1942 - July 1942

Chief, Public Relations Office

Lt. Col. Arthur I. Ennis

July 1942 - September 1942

Assistant to Director of Army Air Forces

Lt. Col. Arthur I. Ennis

September 1942 - December 1942

Colonel William C. Nuckols (BIO) *

December 1942 - July 1943

Colonel William Westlake

January 1943 - December 1945

Lt. Col. Charles E. Root

December 1945 - April 1946

Director of Information

Lt. Gen. Harold L. George (BIO)

March 1946 - August 1946

Maj. Gen. Emmett O'Donnell (BIO) ****

August 1946 - September 1947

US Air Force
Established September 18, 1947
Director of Public Relations

Mr. Stephen F. Leo

September 1947 - January 1948

Brig. Gen. William C. Nuckols (BIO)

Jan 1948 - May 1949

Maj. Gen. Sory Smith (BIO)

May 1949 - July 1954

Director of Information

Maj. Gen. Brooke E. Allen (BIO)

July 1954 - April 1955

Brig. Gen. Robert L. Scott, Jr.

April 1955 - August 1956

Maj. Gen. Andrew J. Kinney (BIO)

August 1956 - June 1957

Maj. Gen. Arno H. Luehman (BIO)

June 1957 - June 1962

Maj. Gen. William K. Martin (BIO) ***

June 1962 - January 1964

Maj. Gen. Eugene B. LeBailly (BIO) ***

January 1964 - June 1967

Maj. Gen. William C. Garland (BIO)

June 1967 - August 1969

Maj. Gen. H.L. Hogan III (OH)

July 1969 - April 1972

Maj. Gen. Robert N. Ginsburgh (BIO)

April 1972 - June 1974

Maj. Gen. Guy E. Hairston (BIO)

June 1974 - November 1975

Director of Public Affairs

Brig. Gen. H. J. Dalton, Jr. (OH)

December 1975 - August 1980

Brig. Gen. Richard F. Abel (OH)

August 1980 - March 1985

Brig. Gen. Michael P. McRaney (OH)

March 1985 - September 1989

Brig. Gen. H. E. Robertson (OH)

October 1989 - May 1992

Maj. Gen. Jay W. Kelley (BIO) ***

May 1992 - October 1992

Brig. Gen. Walter S. Hogle Jr. (BIO) ***

November 1992 - June 1994

Brig. Gen. Ronald T. Sconyers (BIO)

June 1994 - February 1998

Brig. Gen. Ronald T. Rand (OH)

February 1998 - December 2003

Brig. Gen. Frederick Roggero (BIO)**

December 2003 - November 2005

Brig. Gen. Michelle Johnson (BIO) ***

November 2005 - November 2007

Maj. Gen. Darren W. McDew (BIO) ****

November 2007 - February 2009

Director of Public Affairs (Acting)

Colonel Michael G. Caldwell

February 2009 - May 2009

Director of Public Affairs

Brig. Gen. Les A. Kodlick (BIO)

May 2009 - February 2014

Brig. Gen. Kathleen A. Cook (BIO)

February 2014 - June 2016

Brig. Gen. Edward Thomas Jr. (BIO)**

June 2016 - May 2020

Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder (BIO)**

May 2020 - August 2022

Mr. Jerry Renne (BIO)

August 2022 - Present