Ralph Eberhart

Ralph Edward "Ed" Eberhart (born December 6, 1946) is a retired four-star general in the United States Air Force (USAF).

Eberhart entered the USAF in 1968 as a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, having been the cadet wing commander during his senior year.

[2] A command pilot, General Eberhart has logged more than 5,000 hours, primarily in fighter and trainer aircraft, including 300 combat missions as a forward air controller in the Vietnam War.

While he was lieutenant general in January 1996, Eberhart produced a novel concept in operational doctrine: "that a joint force commander could profitably use his air component to attack deep battle targets or at the start of an expeditionary operation before ground forces were in place."

Chief of Staff of the Air Force general Ronald Fogleman embraced this doctrine, saying in April 1996: "The need for mass on the battlefield has now changed.

As Cadet Colonel (left) commanding the Cadet Wing at the United States Air Force Academy , with Colonel Robin Olds (center) and Brigadier General Louis T. Seith , 1967
General Eberhart in 2003
Commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command General Ralph E. Eberhart Arrived at RAF Mildenhall .
Eberhart provides remarks as keynote speaker at the 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony at the NORAD and USNORTHCOM headquarters on Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado , September 11, 2021.