After 55 years of service as fighter pilot, operations officer, and commander in the U.S. Air Force, Mr. Harrison still works as an engineer, consultant, and researcher in the field of aviation.
PEACHTREE CITY, GA, July 03, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to name Mr. Harrison a Lifetime Achiever. An accomplished listee, Mr. Harrison celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
After 55 years of service as fighter pilot, operations officer, and commander in the U.S. Air Force, Mr. Harrison still works as an engineer, consultant, and researcher in the field of aviation, striving to make the armed forces better equipped for the challenges of the new century. He was decorated with multiple medals for his service during the Vietnam War, fighter pilot testing in peacetime, and attaining the rank of major general in the U.S. Air Force. Mr. Harrison is a lifelong aviator, and still flies as a licensed airline transport pilot, certified flight instructor on gliders, single and multi-engine craft, as well as a flight enthusiast of the first order.
Mr. Harrison was born in 1940 to William Henry and Mary Carter Harrison, in Greenville, South Carolina, just one state shy of where the Wright brothers first pioneered fixed-wing flight. He attended the U.S. Air Force Academy to earn a Bachelor of Science in engineering and public policy, and was commissioned to the U.S. Air Force in 1962 as a second lieutenant. From 1963 to 1969, he served with the 557th and 436th Tactical Fighter Squadron in Florida and Vietnam as a fighter pilot, forward air controller, and instructor, logging more than 500 combat flight hours.
In 1970, Mr. Harrison earned an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania and was promoted to the rank of major in 1971. He participated as a joint exercise planner with U.S. Readiness Command in Florida until 1974, when he graduated from the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia. Mr. Harrison served for one year as operations officer with the 13th and 25th Tactical Fighter Squadron in Thailand, and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1975 to oversee the 4485th Test Squadron in Florida as commander.
In 1979, he graduated from the Air War College in Montgomery, Alabama, and was promoted to colonel one year later. Mr. Harrison served as wing commander for the 479th Tactical Training Wing in New Mexico before serving as chief of the joint operations division for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington. He was promoted to brigadier general in 1986, and served as chief of staff for the U.S. Air Force in Germany. In 1989, he was promoted to major general, and returned to Air Force headquarters as assistant chief of staff for studies and analyses. In total, Major General Harrison has logged more than 4,900 flight hours in the service of his country and authored dozens of articles for various engineering, preparatory, and test applications.
Mr. Harrison served as commander of various missions at home and abroad until 1997, when he offered his services as a principal research engineer and associate director at the Georgia Technical Research Institute. At the time, he also accepted a position as military affairs consultant with CNN. Mr. Harrison has also served as a lecturer to military, technical, and civic groups, notably serving with the U.S. delegation to NATO's Advanced Group for Aerospace Research and Development in Paris from 1989 to 1991.
From 1989 to 1991, he sponsored the Military Operations Research Society, and since 1998, he has served on the scientific advisory board for the U.S. Air Force in Washington. He was inducted into the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame in 2005, and has served in leadership positions with the Atlanta Regional Airport Authority, the National Museum of Aviation, the Air Warrior Courage Foundation, the Boy Scouts of America in New Mexico and Germany, as well as the Civil Air Patrol in Georgia, New Mexico, and South Carolina. He is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the Air Force Association, the Quiet Birdmen, and the Order of Daedalians.
For dedicated service to the armed forces, Mr. Harrison was decorated with the Decorated Defense Superior Service medal, the Legion of Merit with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Medal with eleven oak leaf clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Old Crows Association Gold medal, and the 2005 Lieutenant General Glen Kent Leadership Award from the US Air Force. As a pioneering aviator, Mr. Harrison was selected for inclusion in numerous volumes of Who's Who in America, Who's Who in Science and Engineering, Who's Who in the South and Southwest, and Who's Who in the World. He has three children, and still loves to fly.
In recognition of outstanding contributions to his profession and the Marquis Who's Who community, Mr. Harrison has been featured on the Marquis Who's Who Lifetime Achievers website. Please visit www.ltachievers.com for more information about this honor.
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Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America , Marquis Who's Who has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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