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Retired U.S. Air Force General Richard B. Myers served as the 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – the U.S. military's highest ranking officer – from 2001 to 2005. In this capacity, he served as the principal military advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council. He previously served as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff where he was the Chairman of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council, Vice Chairman of the Defense Acquisition Board, and a member of the National Security Council Deputies Committee and the Nuclear Weapons Council.
Previously, Myers was Commander in Chief of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Space Command; Commander of the Air Force Space Command; and Department of Defense manager of space transportation system contingency support at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. He earlier was Commander of the Pacific Air Forces, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii; Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Pentagon; Commander of U.S. Forces Japan and 5th Air Force at Yokota Air Base, Japan; and held operational command and leadership positions in a variety of Air Force assignments. A command pilot, he has flown more than 4,100 hours in the T-33, C-37, C-21, F-4, F-15 and F-16 aircraft, including 600 combat hours in the F 4. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on November 9, 2005.
Following his retirement, Myers was selected as The Colin Powell Chair of Character, Leadership and Ethics at National Defense University and the Foundation Professor of Military History and Leadership at Kansas State University. He now serves on the board of directors of Deere & Company, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Aon Corporation and United Technologies Corporation.
Myers holds a mechanical engineering degree from Kansas State University and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Auburn University. He attended the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama; the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania; and the Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) is the world's leading manufacturer of agricultural and forestry equipment, a major manufacturer of construction equipment, and a leading supplier of equipment used in lawn, grounds and turf care. John Deere also manufactures and markets engines used in heavy equipment and provides landscape and worldwide financial services. Since it was founded in 1837, the company has extended its heritage of integrity, quality, commitment and innovation around the globe.
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