Craig W Duehring

Biography

Craig W. Duehring was educated at Minnesota State University, Mankato, receiving a B.A. in history and sociology in 1967. After college, he joined the United States Air Force. He spent 1968-69 completing undergraduate pilot training at Craig Air Force Base. He saw service during the Vietnam War in 1969-70, as a forward air controller with the 22nd Tactical Air Support Squadron.

In 1970-71, he was a Raven Forward Air Controller based at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base. He then returned to Craig Air Force Base 1971-75, as a Cessna T-37 Tweet instructor pilot with the 43d Flying Training Squadron. He also earned a master's degree in counseling and guidance from Troy University in 1975.

From 1975-78, he was base fuels management officer with the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base. He was posted at RAF Bentwaters from 1978-81, serving as Chief of Training of the 81st Training Wing. From 1981-84, he was action officer of the Tactical Fighter Operations Division at the Headquarters of the United States Air Forces in Europe at Ramstein Air Base in West Germany. He returned to RAF Bentwaters in 1984, first as assistant operations officer of the 510th Fighter Squadron, then as Director of Operations Training for the 81st Training Wing.

He returned to West Germany in 1986, and was stationed at Nörvenich Air Base as American Community Commander and Commander of the 7502nd Munitions Support Squadron. He was then Assistant Deputy Commander of Operations of the 406th Tactical Fighter Training Wing at Zaragoza Air Base 1989-90, and then Deputy Commander of Operations 1990-91. He then spent 1992-93 studying at the Foreign Service Institute in Washington, D.C. From 1993-95, he was United States Air Attaché to Indonesia. Duehring retired from the Air Force in 1996, having attained the rank of colonel.

In 1998 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States House of Representatives on the Republican ticket for Minnesota's 2nd congressional district. In 1999, Duehring served as Executive Director of the Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty (founded by Gary Aldrich). During the 2000 U.S. presidential election campaign, he campaigned on behalf of George W. Bush, and was later a part of Bush's presidential transition team.

Duehring joined the United States Department of Defense, becoming Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. As there was no Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs from May 31, 2001 to October 9, 2002, Duehring was performing the duties of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs in the period immediately following the September 11 attacks.

Following the resignation of Michael L. Dominguez as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Manpower & Reserve Affairs) in July 2006, Duehring became Acting Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Manpower & Reserve Affairs) at that time. In November 2007, President of the United States George W. Bush nominated Duehring to be Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Manpower & Reserve Affairs), and Duehring subsequently held this office until retiring from public service on April 30, 2009.

Other

In September 2009 Pope Benedict XVI conferred a Papal Knighthood of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great on Duehring (Knight Commander with Star).

On September 1, 2010, Duehring was appointed by Governor Bob McDonnell as a member of the Board of Directors for the Virginia National Defense Industrial Authority. On April 12, 2014, he was inducted into the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame for 2014. In late 2014 he published The Lair of Raven an autobiographical account of his wartime service with the Raven Forward Air Controllers of Laos.

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