The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal to Brigadier General Joseph A. Ahearn, United States Air Force, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service in a position of great responsibility to the Government of the United States. General Ahearn distinguished himself as Deputy Chief of Staff, Engineering and Services, Headquarters, United States Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, from 17 June 1983 to 26 May 1986. In this important assignment, General Ahearn spearheaded programs and plans to expand basing programs that supported the United States Air Force on-time deployment of the Ground-Launched Cruise Missile program in Western Europe. Also, he led the effort to build facilities at four bases in Oman and accelerated the delivery of storage and maintenance structures for nearly 70 co-located operating bases in seven countries. These efforts greatly enhanced our readiness and warfighting capabilities. General Ahearn contributed extensively to quality of life improvements for Air Force people in Europe by modernizing living quarters and work stations. His initiative to build housing–8,000 family homes and 5,000 rooms for unaccompanied personnel–is the largest housing program in the history of the United States Air Forces in Europe and will contribute to our readiness posture. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of General Ahearn reflect the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
Sponsored by:
Awards Received
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Legion of Merit
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Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
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Legion of Merit
(Citation Needed) – SYNOPSIS: Major General Joseph A. Ahearn, United States Air Force, was awarded the Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of General Ahearn and his dedicated contributions in the service of his country reflect the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
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Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
Service:
United States Air ForceRank:
Major GeneralAction Date:
May 28, 1986 – January 31, 1992
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal to Major General Joseph A. Ahearn, United States Air Force, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service in a position of great responsibility to the Government of the United States. General Ahearn distinguished himself as Deputy Director, Engineering and Services; Director, Engineering and Services, and as The Civilian Engineer, Headquarters, United States Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, District of Columbia, from 28 May 1986 to 31 January 1992. During this period, General Ahearn’s outstanding achievements and dynamic leadership resulted in significant improvements to the performance and strategic direction of engineering and services warfighting readiness, base development and operations, environmental quality, troop feeding and housing, military family housing, firefighting, and mortuary affairs. He initiated the restructuring of base civil engineering by streamlining and consolidating the organizational structure and improving the training of civil engineering people to improve efficiency and sustain quality services. This initiative will save 914 million dollars over the five year period beginning 1992. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of General Ahearn culminate a long and distinguished career in the service of his country and reflect the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.