Archer L. Durham

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Archer L. Durham
Formal portrait of a man in a United States Air Force major general's uniform Official U.S. Air Force portrait
Birth name	Archer Lyman Durham
Born	(1932-06-09)June 9, 1932 Pasadena, California, U.S.
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Rank	Major general
Commands held	436th Military Airlift Wing 76th Military Airlift Division 1606th Air Base Wing
Awards	Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster

Archer Lyman Durham (born June 9, 1932) is a retired United States Air Force major general and former federal official. A command pilot with more than 6,000 flying hours, he served 36 years on active duty (1953–1989) as a career airlift officer and senior planner. His military commands included the 436th Military Airlift Wing at Dover Air Force Base (the Air Force's only all-C-5 Galaxy wing), the 76th Military Airlift Division at Andrews Air Force Base, and the 1606th Air Base Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base. He served as United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM)'s first director of deployment when the unified command was established in 1987, and later as Assistant Secretary of Energy for Human Resources and Administration under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1998.

Durham entered the Air Force in January 1953 as an aviation cadet and earned his pilot wings at Laredo Air Force Base, Texas, in April 1954. He graduated as a distinguished graduate from the National War College in 1975 and later completed executive programs at Columbia Business School and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. His flying career began with tactical airlift units in South Carolina, Okinawa, and the Philippines and extended through staff positions at Headquarters Military Airlift Command and Headquarters U.S. Air Force. Command tours at McGuire Air Force Base, Kirtland Air Force Base, Dover, and Andrews preceded his move into joint assignment work; at the Joint Deployment Agency and then USTRANSCOM, he addressed mobilization and transportation deficiencies that the 1978 Nifty Nugget exercise had exposed, and served as USTRANSCOM's first director of deployment when the unified command consolidated the Military Airlift Command, Military Sealift Command, and Military Traffic Management Command on April 1, 1987.

Nominated by President Clinton on April 22, 1993, and confirmed by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in June of that year, Durham managed human resources, administrative functions, and workforce programs for more than 14,000 Department of Energy employees through post-Cold War reorganization and federal management reforms. He signed DOE Manual 450.3-1 in March 1996, establishing a risk-based process for tailoring environment, safety, and health standards across departmental operations, and served as acting Director of Quality Management in 1997.

A citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Durham was presented the tribe's Medal of Patriotism in August 2024 at the annual National Holiday Awards Ceremony. Dover Air Force Base presents the annual Maj. Gen. Archer L. Durham Award for leadership in teamwork and cultural awareness. While stationed at Hill Air Force Base in the early 1960s, he co-authored "Anchors Aweigh in Utah: The U.S. Naval Supply Depot at Clearfield, 1942–1962" with historian Leonard J. Arrington, published in the Utah Historical Quarterly in 1963.

Early life and education

Durham was born on June 9, 1932, in Pasadena, California, and graduated from high school there. He entered the Air Force in January 1953 as an aviation cadet and received his commission and pilot wings at Laredo Air Force Base, Texas, in April 1954.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from Utah State University in 1960 and a Master of Science degree in international affairs from George Washington University in 1975. His professional military education included Squadron Officer School (1960), Air Command and Staff College (1961), the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (1973), and the National War College, from which he graduated as a distinguished graduate in 1975. He later completed executive programs at Columbia Business School and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Air Force career

Durham accumulated more than 6,000 flying hours over the course of his career, attaining the rating of command pilot.

Operational and staff assignments

Durham's early flying assignments were with tactical airlift units. He began with the 744th Troop Carrier Squadron at Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina, flying the Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar, and deployed with the squadron to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, in October 1955. From 1956 to 1958 he served as a flight-test maintenance officer with the 2720th Maintenance Group at Clark Air Base, Philippines.

He next flew as an aircraft commander and served as squadron plans and mobility officer with the 28th Logistics Support Squadron (later redesignated the 28th Air Transport Squadron) at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, after its 1962 assignment to Military Airlift Command. Assignments in France followed (1963–1966), first as an airlift command-post controller with the 1622nd Support Squadron in Paris and then as a plans officer with the 322nd Air Division at Châteauroux Air Station.

Returning stateside, Durham held staff positions at Headquarters Military Airlift Command, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois (chief, Advanced Programming and Policy Division), and at Headquarters U.S. Air Force in Washington, D.C. (plans and policy, including Joint Chiefs of Staff matters). From June 1973 to June 1974 he was director of plans and programs for U.S. air forces in Korea at the 314th Air Division, Osan Air Base.

Command assignments

Durham's first command tour was as deputy base commander and then base commander at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey (1975–1976). McGuire was Military Airlift Command's principal East Coast strategic airlift installation; the assignment followed Durham's 1975 promotion to colonel and was his first base-command posting. He next commanded the 1606th Air Base Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico (July 1977–February 1979). Kirtland hosted the Air Force Weapons Laboratory and nuclear research facilities operated in conjunction with Department of Energy predecessor agencies, giving the 1606th a base-operations mission that spanned conventional airlift support and research-facility sustainment.

In February 1979 he assumed command of the 436th Military Airlift Wing at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, the Air Force's sole all-C-5 Galaxy wing. His tenure occurred amid ongoing concerns about C-5A structural fatigue; a 1982 Government Accountability Office report documented wing-modification efforts to restore full payload capability and maintain strategic airlift capacity.

On February 28, 1980, Durham took command of the 76th Military Airlift Division at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, responsible for special air missions supporting senior government officials and foreign dignitaries as well as base operations. He was promoted to major general on June 1, 1984, with date of rank September 1, 1980.

Joint deployment planning and USTRANSCOM

In February 1982 Durham became vice commander of the Military Traffic Management Command in Washington, D.C. In March 1984 he was named director of plans, programs, and policy (J-5) and inspector general at United States Readiness Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.

In April 1985 he became director of deployment at the Joint Deployment Agency, established in 1979 to address mobilization and transportation coordination deficiencies that the 1978 Nifty Nugget exercise, a large-scale joint mobilization simulation, had exposed in the military's capacity to rapidly deploy forces to multiple theaters simultaneously.

President Ronald Reagan signed Executive Order 12594 on January 7, 1987, establishing United States Transportation Command effective April 1, 1987, consolidating the Military Airlift Command, Military Sealift Command, and Military Traffic Management Command under a single manager for common-user military transportation. Durham became USTRANSCOM's first director of deployment when the command stood up on April 1, 1987, responsible for joint deployment planning as the unified command's structure was established, and held the position until his retirement on July 1, 1989.

Department of Energy

On April 22, 1993, President Bill Clinton nominated Durham as Assistant Secretary of Energy for Human Resources and Administration. The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held confirmation hearings on June 8, 1993, and the Senate confirmed him later that month.

During Secretary Hazel R. O'Leary's tenure, Durham oversaw human resources, administrative functions, and workforce management for an organization of more than 14,000 personnel amid post-Cold War reorganization and federal management reforms. In 1997 he also served as acting Director of Quality Management.

He signed DOE Manual 450.3-1 (March 1996), which established a risk-based process for tailoring environment, safety, and health standards, and issued guidance on contractor workforce restructuring under Section 3161 of the National Defense Authorization Act. His service ended in 1998.

Historical writing and public recognition

While stationed at Hill Air Force Base, Durham co-authored with historian Leonard J. Arrington the article "Anchors Aweigh in Utah: The U.S. Naval Supply Depot at Clearfield, 1942–1962," published in the Utah Historical Quarterly (1963). It examined the depot's wartime construction, labor force, logistical role in World War II and the Korean War, and postwar transfer to the General Services Administration.

Dover Air Force Base presents the Maj. Gen. Archer L. Durham Award for leadership in teamwork and cultural awareness. In August 2024 the Cherokee Nation presented him the Medal of Patriotism at its annual National Holiday Awards Ceremony in recognition of his decades of military and public service.

Personal life

Durham was married to Sue Marie Durham until her death in 2003. They had four children: Debra, David, Beverly, and Steven. He is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, headquartered in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The Cherokee Nation acknowledged his service with its Medal of Patriotism at the 2024 National Holiday Awards Ceremony.

Awards and decorations

Command Pilot wings
File:Defense Superior Service Medal ribbon.svg
File:Air Force Commendation Medal ribbon.svg	File:Outstanding Unit ribbon.svg	File:U.S. Air Force Good Conduct Medal ribbon.svg
		Silver oak leaf cluster File:Air Force Longevity Service ribbon.svg
File:Armed Forces Reserve Medal ribbon.svg	File:Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon.png

U.S. Air Force Command Pilot Badge
Defense Superior Service Medal	Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters	Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with three oak leaf clusters	Good Conduct Medal
National Defense Service Medal with service star	Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal	Air Force Longevity Service Award with six oak leaf clusters
Armed Forces Reserve Medal	Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon

Dates of rank

Effective dates of promotion

Rank	Date
Second lieutenant	April 1954
First lieutenant	1956
Captain	1960
Major	1966
Lieutenant colonel	1969
Colonel	1975
Brigadier general	February 1, 1980
Major general	June 1, 1984 (date of rank September 1, 1980)

External links

• Official U.S. Air Force biography
• "Anchors Aweigh in Utah" at UtahRails.net

Military offices
Preceded by Position established	Commander, 1606th Air Base Wing July 1977 – February 1979	Succeeded by Jack W. Sheppard
Preceded by William J. Mall Jr.	Commander, 436th Military Airlift Wing February 1979 – February 1980	Succeeded by Albert C. Guidotti
Preceded by Benjamin F. Starr Jr.	Commander, 76th Military Airlift Division 1980–1982	Succeeded by Albert C. Guidotti

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