[2] In May 1957, Russ was assigned to the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing at Royal Air Force Station Bentwaters, England, flying F-84F Thunderjets and, later, F-101A Voodoos.

After completing this tour of duty in May 1960, he transferred to the 437th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Oxnard Air Force Base, California, where he flew F-101Bs.

After attending F-4 Phantom replacement training at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, from July 1967 to January 1968, Russ was assigned to the 12th Tactical Fighter Wing at Cam Ranh Bay Air Base, Republic of Vietnam, where he flew 242 combat missions, of which 50 were over North Vietnam.

[2] In November 1979 Russ moved to USAF headquarters and was appointed director of operational requirements, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Research, Development and Acquisition.

[3] Awards earned during his career:[2] This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency