Robert H. Foglesong

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Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong

General Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong
Nickname	Doc
Place of birth	Williamson, West Virginia
Allegiance	U.S. Air Force
Years of service	1972-2006
Rank	General
Commands	U.S. Air Forces in Europe
Awards	Legion of Merit (2) Defense Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal Meritorious Service Medal Aerial Achievement Medal Air Force Commendation Medal Air Force Achievement Medal Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal Korean National Security Medal (Samil) Korean National Security Medal (Cheon-Su) Medalla De Oro por Servicio Distinguido, El Salvador (Gold Medal for Distinguished Service) Mérito Aeronáutico, Uruguay (Aeronautical Merit) Mérito Aeronáutico, Bolivia Cruz de la Fuerza Aérea, Colombia (Air Force Cross, Great Cross category) Cruz de las Fuerzas Armadas, Honduras (Armed Forces Cross) Cruz de la Fuerza Aérea, Guatemala Cruz Peruana al Mérito Aeronáutico, clase Gran Cruz, Perú (Peruvian Cross of Aeronautical Merit, Great Cross category) La Medalla Legion al Mérito Confraternidad Aérea Interamericana (Legion of Merit, System of Cooperation Among the American Air Forces, SICOFAA)
Other work	President of Mississippi State University

General Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong (USAF, Ret.) formerly of Williamson, West Virginia is the President of Mississippi State University. He served in the United States Air Force from April 1972 until retirement as general in February 2006. General Foglesong holds a doctorate in chemical engineering from West Virginia University. General Foglesong was also known throughout Europe for his "Combat Proud" program. At Osan Air Base, Korea, during 1994, when he served as the Wing Commander, he implemented operation "Wing Man," which included screenings of all-night movies at the base's movie theater during American holidays in order to comfort lonely servicemembers who were unable to spend the holidays with their family members.

Foglesong was nominated by the President, confirmed by the United States Senate, and served as a four-star general. He had responsibility for policy recommendations and implementation of policy that affected personnel, operations, infrastructure, and intra/inter governmental affairs for an organization of 358,000 uniformed members and 158,000 civilian employees. He was responsible for planning/programming for future strategies involving an annual budget of $90 Billion. During the last portion of his carrer, he was had daily interaction with members of Congress, the White House, and various government officials.

Foglesong spent thirty-three years in public service. He has received awards for his leadership. In addition, he has continued his education by attending professional military education schools as well as advanced civilian education forums. He is a member of several professional aviation organizations and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. His 56 publications cover a range of subjects, including technical and leadership topics. A graduate of West Virginia University, Foglesong was a member of Tau Beta Pi (President), Ranking Engineer Honorary on campus; Mountain, Ranking Men’s Honorary on campus and numbers other academic and leadership honoraries.

General Foglesong has an honorary Doctorate of Strategic Intelligence and has been honored as a Distinguished Alumni of West Virginia University. He was selected by the West Virginia Education Alliance as a Graduate of Distinction, and was selected by the West Virginia Executive Magazine as the Patriot of the Year for 2005. Foglesong last served as Commander, U.S. Air Forces in Europe; Commander, Allied Air Component Command; Air Component Commander, and U.S. European Command (NATO).

During Foglesong's tenure as the commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), he was well known throughout the military communities located in Europe that had access to the Armed Forces Network television stations. The primary reason for Foglesong's widespread repution was the rather excessive airing of badly scripted, even more badly acted television commercials intended to "boost morale" and promote virtue among members under Foglesong's command. These infamous airings, which were, and still are, well known and despised by the majority of the individuals who were reluctantly exposed to them, were immediatly discontinued as soon as Foglesong was replaced by his successor as commander of USAFE, General William T. Hobbins.

Foglesong, who retired from the Air Force in mid-2006, is currently the President of Mississippi State University. He also heads a scholarship program in West Virginia called the Appalachian Leadership and Educational Foundation, which is awarded to college students who demonstrate exceptional leadership amongst their peers.