Retired Maj. Gen. Sloan Gill, Air Force Reserve chief from November 1982 to October 1986, died late last month at age 81. He succumbed on Aug. 22 to complications of pulmonary fibrosis while in a hospital in Thousand Oaks, Calif., according to his obituary in the Marietta Daily Journal of Georgia, his state of birth. Gill was commissioned as a second lieutenant in March 1952 through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program. During his military career, he flew B-25 bombers and C-118, C-123, C-124, and C-7A transports and commanded various airlift groups and wings. In 1955, he established a world record for propeller-driven transports by flying a C-118 from McGuire AFB, N.J., to Rhein-Main AB, Germany, in 10 hours and 22 minutes. Prior to becoming AFR chief, Gill led 4th Air Force at now-shuttered McClellan AFB, Calif. He was called to active duty several times, such as during the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962. He retired from the Air Force in December 1989. (See also Gill’s official Air Force biography)
Lessons from the KC-46 and F-35 will prove useful to the testing community in the years to come, the nominee to take over the role of director of operational test and evaluation for the Pentagon told lawmakers Oct. 19.