A 1968 graduate of Brigham Young University has won his second star, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff has announced.
David A. Sawyer was promoted to major general in the Air Force and given the position of the director for Operational Plans and Interoperability in the Pentagon. In that role, which he began on May 6, he is a key adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. John M. Shalikashvili.Until the move to the Pentagon, Sawyer was deputy commander of NATO's 5th Allied Tactical Air Force, headquartered in Vicenza, Italy.
He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. A.H. Sawyer, Orem. Born and reared in Rock Springs, Wyo., he earned a bachelor's degree in Asian studies from BYU. He entered the Air Force in 1968.
He flew 111 combat mission during two tours of duty in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. In the 1990s, during Operation Desert Storm, Sawyer flew 29 combat missions over Iraq and Kuwait as commander of the 23rd Tactical Fighter Wing "Flying Tigers."