General Ronald Wilburn Yates (born October 3, 1938)[1] served as Commander,
Air Force Materiel Command,
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. As AFMC Commander, Yates was responsible for research, development, test, acquisition and logistics support for the Air Force from 18 specialized centers and 116,000 military and civilian employees around the world.
Background
Yates graduated from the
United States Air Force Academy in 1960. He has served as a test pilot, flying a variety of modified fighter aircraft, as program manager for a variety of weapon systems, and as commander of a test wing. General Yates also served as commander of
Air Force Systems Command. He is a command test pilot with more than 4,400 flying hours, and flew 100 combat missions in Southeast Asia. In March 1994 he was inducted into the AFMC
Order of the Sword. He retired from active duty on July 1, 1995.
December 1962 - June 1964, pilot, 68th Fighter Interceptor Squadron,
Itazuke Air Base, Japan
June 1964 - June 1966, pilot, 509th Fighter Interceptor Squadron,
Clark AB, Philippines
July 1966 - December 1970, student, test pilot, Aerospace Research Pilot School; then Chief, Aerospace Research Pilot Branch, Aerospace Research Pilot School,
Edwards AFB, California
January 1971 - January 1973, Director, Senior Officer Management, Headquarters Air Force Systems Command,
Andrews AFB, Maryland
January 1973 - July 1973, student, Defense Systems Management College,
Fort Belvoir, Virginia
July 1977 - March 1979, program element monitor,
F-16 program, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Research and Development, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.