General Kenneth Eickmann served the nation with distinction in the United States Air Force for 35 years. His last active duty assignment was as the commander of the Aeronautical Systems Center, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, WrightPatterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In that capacity, he led the Air Force’s Center of Excellence for research, development and acquisition of aircraft, aeronautical equipment and munitions. He managed over 2,800 programs, ranging from basic research to design, development and support of advanced aeronautical systems. He executed an annual budget in excess of $11 billion and employed a workforce of approximately 12,000 people located at Wright-Patterson and 35 locations worldwide. He also served as the installation commander of Wright-Patterson AFB, one of the largest, most diverse and organizationally complex bases in the world with a long history of flight test spanning from the Wright Brothers into the Space Age.
The general was born in San Antonio, Texas, and entered the Air Force in 1967 as a distinguished graduated of The University of Texas’ Reserve Officer Training Corps. He served as a reliability and maintainability engineer on the F-106 and C-5 aircraft, as the F100 engine systems manager for the F-15 and F-16 aircraft, as a division chief at the San Antonio Air Logistics Center, and on the Air Staff in the Pentagon. In addition, he served as the principal military advisor to the assistant secretary of the Air Force for research, development, acquisition, and logistics; director of maintenance at the Sacramento Air Logistics Center; deputy chief of staff for logistics for the Pacific Air Forces and for Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC); chief of staff and staff director at AFMC Headquarters; and commander at Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, the largest military industrial complex in the Department of Defense.
The State of Oklahoma declared July 11, 1995 “General Ken Eickmann Day” in recognition of his leadership and assistance following the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City. A recognized expert in propulsion technology, General Eickmann has published several papers in technical journals in the United States and overseas.
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