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That's what we believe Maj. General George B. Harrison gets have in his capacity as Commander, Air Force Operational Test & Evaluation Center at Kirtland AFB, NM. He reports directly to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force on the testing of more than 250 major programs at 20 different locations.
On 3 March 1997, General Harrison was the featured speaker at our Dallas Composite Squadron meeting. He spoke about the relationship between Civil Air Patrol & the USAF as well as the exciting activities taking place within the USAF Operational Test & Evaluation Center. He briefed us, with great photographs, on the various aircraft the USAF has been testing for purchase in the future. Included were the C-17, C-130J, B-2, F-22 and the new primary trainer for the USAF & US Navy. The amount of money being spent to test and then purchase these systems is mind boggling. When asked about the incredible amounts of money allocated for these systems (ranging from 20 million to 70 billion dollars per system), General Harrison stated, "I don't want America to be competitive in the year 2025, I want America to win. I don't want a level playing field."
General Harrison, a former CAP cadet & current CAP member, graciously accepted our squadron's invitation to speak at one our squadron meetings when several of our members met with him during the Texas Wing Conference in Padre Island. General Harrison has quite an impressive background. Since graduating from the USAF Academy in 1962, he has commanded a test squadron and a tactical training wing as well as serving as Chief of the Joint Operations Division, J-3, Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Prior to assuming his current command, General Harrison commanded the USAF Air Warfare Center, Eglin AFB, FL. He is a command pilot with more than 4,900 hours in a variety of tactical aircraft to include the F-16, F-4, AT-38B, F-15, etc... More than 500 of those hours were flown in combat over Southeast & Southwest Asia.
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