Maj Gen Richard Devereaux, Maj Gen, USAF, Retired

Major General Devereaux retired 1 July 2012 after an impressive 34 year career covering a wide variety of command and staff positions. He held five commands including a C-5 flying squadron, an air mobility operations group, an air refueling wing, the Air Force’s largest technical training wing, and the USAF Expeditionary Center. As a pilot, Maj Gen Devereaux flew multiple airframes including the T-37, C-5, KC-135, and T-1 to amass a total of 4,000 flying hours. His staff positions comprised working for the Joint Staff, the SECAF Staff, and the Air Staff with a total of four tours at the Pentagon.

“I’m convinced I would not have become a general officer without my AFIT experience.  The program broadened me in a way that allowed me to surpass the potential I had envisioned for myself.” 

Maj Gen Devereaux’s career was marked with his ability to set himself apart. He is a 1978 honors graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, a Distinguished Graduate of AFIT, Air Command and Staff College, and National War College. Maj Gen Devereaux attributes much of his success to lessons learned at AFIT: “AFIT provided me a platform to excel, and the opportunity to develop the analytic and critical thinking skills that were so necessary to my success as a senior leader.”  While at AFIT, he was the top graduate in his class, earning the General Edwin W. Rawlings award. His thesis on the Air Force’s Officer-Enlisted Fraternization Policy provided a base for future policy decisions. Dr. Carl Davis and Dr. Larry Fenno, Maj Gen Devereaux’s thesis advisors, helped him shape a theoretical topic into something that would make a difference for the Air Force. Maj Gen Devereaux’s thesis was very influential - at the time the Air Force was developing their policy on the issue of fraternization and he briefed the results of his study to the Director of Personnel policy at the Pentagon. He describes his time at AFIT as “stimulating, engaging, and fun”.