Archer L. Durham

Archer Lyman Durham (born 1932) is a retired United States Air Force major general who served 36 years as a command pilot and senior staff officer. He commanded the 436th Military Airlift Wing, an all-C-5 Galaxy wing, and later served as director of deployment at United States Transportation Command. After retiring from the Air Force in 1989, he served as Assistant Secretary of Energy for Human Resources and Administration from 1993 to 1998 during the Clinton administration. He also co-authored a 1963 historical article with Leonard J. Arrington in the Utah Historical Quarterly.^[1][2]

Durham is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and received the tribe's Medal of Patriotism on August 29, 2024, during the annual Cherokee National Holiday Awards Ceremony.^[3][4] The Maj. Gen. Archer L. Durham Award at Dover Air Force Base recognizes leadership in fostering teamwork and cultural awareness.^[5]

Durham was born in 1932 in Pasadena, California, and graduated from Pasadena High School.^[2]

• 1960 Bachelor of Science in political science, Utah State University
• 1960 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama
• 1961 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
• 1973 Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
• 1975 Master of Science in international affairs, George Washington University
• 1975 National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. (distinguished graduate)
• Executive program, Columbia Business School
• Executive program, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University^[2]

Durham entered the Air Force in January 1953 as an aviation cadet and received his commission and pilot wings at Laredo Air Force Base, Texas, in April 1954. A command pilot, he accumulated more than 6,000 flying hours in aircraft including the Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar, Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, and Lockheed C-5 Galaxy.^[2]

Durham began his operational flying career with the 744th Troop Carrier Squadron at Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina, in August 1954, flying the Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar. He deployed with the squadron to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, in October 1955 for Pacific theater airlift operations.^[2]

Between 1956 and 1958, he served as a flight test maintenance officer with the 2720th Maintenance Group at Clark Air Base, Philippines, followed by an assignment with the 28th Air Transport Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, flying the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II on worldwide special weapons airlift missions as an aircraft commander responsible for squadron planning and mobility operations.^[2][6]

Durham served in France during the early 1960s. He was assigned to the 1622nd Support Squadron in Paris from August 1963 to June 1964 as an airlift command post controller. After the squadron's disestablishment, he moved to the 322nd Air Division at Châteauroux Air Station, France, as a plans officer in the Directorate of Plans and Programs until September 1966.^[2]

Returning to the United States in October 1966, Durham served at Headquarters Military Airlift Command, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, as chief of the Advanced Programming and Policy Division until December 1968.^[2]

In January 1969, he was assigned to Headquarters U.S. Air Force at the Pentagon in the Directorate of Plans, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations. He served as a plans action officer and as assistant deputy director for plans and policy for Joint Chiefs of Staff matters.^[2]

From June 1973 to June 1974, Durham served as director of plans and programs for U.S. Air Forces in Korea at the 314th Air Division, Osan Air Base, South Korea.^[2]

After graduating from the National War College, Durham was assigned to McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, in August 1975 as deputy base commander, becoming base commander in February 1976.^[2]

He commanded the 1606th Air Base Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, from July 1977 to February 1979. He then assumed command of the 436th Military Airlift Wing at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware—an all-C-5 Galaxy wing—from February 1979 to February 1980. Durham's command coincided with Air Force-wide restrictions on the C-5A fleet; structural fatigue in the wing boxes had reduced the aircraft's maximum payload to 174,000 pounds (79,000 kg), limiting the wing's strategic airlift capacity until the H-mod wing replacement program restored full capability in the mid-1980s.^[7][8][2]

In December 1980, Durham took command of the 76th Military Airlift Division at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, serving until February 1982. The 76th oversaw the 89th Military Airlift Wing, which provided airlift for the President, Vice President, cabinet members, and foreign heads of state, as well as the 1776th Air Base Wing, which maintained Andrews and oversaw the National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP) mission.^[9]

At Andrews AFB, Durham served in the official greeting party for state visits by Nigerian President Shehu Shagari in October 1980 (before the 76th reactivated in December),^[10] Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in August 1981, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in September 1981.^[11][12] Durham also greeted former President Gerald Ford and Turkish Air Force Commander General Tahsin Şahinkaya during their visits to Andrews.^[13] He was then assigned as vice commander of the Military Traffic Management Command in Washington, D.C.^[2]

In March 1984, Durham became director of plans, programs, and policy (J-5) and inspector general at United States Readiness Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. He was assigned as director of deployment at the Joint Deployment Agency at MacDill in April 1985.^[14] The agency had been established after Exercise NIFTY NUGGET in 1978 exposed shortcomings in military deployment planning. Following the Goldwater–Nichols Act of 1986, the Joint Deployment Agency's missions transferred to the newly established United States Transportation Command, and Durham assumed his final military position as director of deployment at USTRANSCOM in June 1987, helping stand up the deployment directorate of the new unified combatant command.^[2][15]

By September 1988, Durham had transitioned to director of the USTRANSCOM Washington, D.C., office.^[16]

Durham was promoted to major general on June 1, 1984, with date of rank September 1, 1980. He retired from the Air Force on July 1, 1989.^[2]

1. August 1954 – October 1955, pilot, 744th Troop Carrier Squadron, Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina
2. October 1955 – 1956, pilot, 744th Troop Carrier Squadron, Kadena Air Base, Okinawa
3. 1956 – 1958, flight test maintenance officer, 2720th Maintenance Group, Clark Air Base, Philippines
4. 1958 – 1963, aircraft commander, 28th Air Transport Squadron, Hill Air Force Base, Utah
5. August 1963 – June 1964, airlift command post controller, 1622nd Support Squadron, Paris, France
6. June 1964 – September 1966, plans officer, Directorate of Plans and Programs, 322nd Air Division, Châteauroux Air Station, France
7. October 1966 – December 1968, chief, Advanced Programming and Policy Division, Headquarters Military Airlift Command, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois
8. January 1969 – June 1973, plans action officer and assistant deputy director for plans and policy, Directorate of Plans, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Pentagon
9. June 1973 – June 1974, director of plans and programs, 314th Air Division, Osan Air Base, South Korea
10. June 1974 – June 1975, student, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
11. August 1975 – February 1976, deputy base commander, McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey
12. February 1976 – July 1977, base commander, McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey
13. July 1977 – February 1979, commander, 1606th Air Base Wing, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico
14. February 1979 – February 1980, commander, 436th Military Airlift Wing, Dover Air Force Base, Delaware
15. December 1980 – February 1982, commander, 76th Military Airlift Division, Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland
16. February 1982 – March 1984, vice commander, Military Traffic Management Command, Washington, D.C.
17. March 1984 – April 1985, director of plans, programs, and policy (J-5) and inspector general, United States Readiness Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida
18. April 1985 – June 1987, director of deployment, Joint Deployment Agency, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida
19. June 1987 – September 1988, director of deployment, United States Transportation Command, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois
20. September 1988 – July 1989, director, USTRANSCOM Washington office, Washington, D.C.^[2]

Following his retirement, Durham was nominated by President Bill Clinton on April 22, 1993, to serve as Assistant Secretary of Energy for Human Resources and Administration at the United States Department of Energy. Clinton described Durham as "a hands-on manager who consistently led the Air Force in management efficiency indicators."^[17] The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a confirmation hearing on June 8, 1993, and the Senate confirmed the appointment on June 18.^{[18][19][2][20]}

In this role, Durham oversaw more than 14,000 personnel.^[3] His tenure coincided with the "Reinventing Government" initiative led by Secretary Hazel R. O'Leary, during which Durham restructured the department's administrative functions to improve field management and reduce headquarters consolidation following the end of the Cold War.^[21] Durham issued departmental directives including the 1996 Performance Review Board listings for the department's Senior Executive Service.^[22] He also served in an acting capacity as Assistant Secretary for Quality Management, focusing on safety standards and worker protection.^[20] Durham signed DOE Manual 450.3-1, The Department of Energy Closure Process for Necessary and Sufficient Sets of Standards, on March 1, 1996, which replaced the department's uniform approach to safety compliance with a risk-based methodology requiring multi-disciplinary teams to identify the specific standards applicable to each work activity. The six-step framework became the foundation of DOE's Integrated Safety Management system.^[23]

Durham signed departmental guidance on contractor workforce restructuring in December 1998 under Section 3161 of the National Defense Authorization Act.^[24][25] He also participated in oversight of the department's environmental management programs, including implementation of Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Recommendation 93-4 on technical competence.^[26] Durham resigned in September 1998.^[27]

While assigned to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Durham co-authored "Anchors Aweigh in Utah: The U.S. Naval Supply Depot at Clearfield, 1942–1962" with Leonard J. Arrington, published in the Utah Historical Quarterly in 1963. The article documented the depot's role as one of three inland naval supply facilities supporting Pacific Fleet logistics during World War II. Built at a cost of $37 million, the depot comprised 84 buildings and 38 miles of roads. At peak operations in 1944, it employed 7,624 workers—including German prisoners of war, Pueblo and San Felipe Indians, WAVES, and elderly workers—and shipped 30,696 carloads of materiel. During the Korean War, the depot handled a 400 percent traffic increase with only a 25 percent increase in personnel. The article traced the depot's postwar contraction through the Korean War resurgence to its 1962 closure and transfer to the General Services Administration.^[1]

Durham's military awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, recognizing "exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services."^[28]

Durham married Sue Marie Durham, who died on July 19, 2003. They had four children: Debra, David, Beverly, and Steven.^[29]

Durham is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.^[3]

The Maj. Gen. Archer L. Durham Award at Dover Air Force Base recognizes personnel who promote teamwork and cultural awareness on the base.^[5]

Durham's 1963 article with Leonard J. Arrington on the Clearfield naval depot remains a cited source in Utah military-industrial history.^[1]

In 2024, the Cherokee Nation awarded Durham the Medal of Patriotism during the annual Cherokee National Holiday Awards Ceremony, recognizing his military and public service.^[3][4]

• Military Airlift Command
• United States Transportation Command
• Lockheed C-5 Galaxy
• Cherokee Nation

• Official U.S. Air Force Biography
• Cherokee National Holiday Awards 2024 (Medal of Patriotism ceremony) on YouTube
• Department of Energy Manual 450.3-1 (Necessary and Sufficient Process signed by Durham)
• "Anchors Aweigh in Utah" (scholarly article co-authored by Durham, 1963)

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Air Force