Retired Lt. Gen. Dale Sweat, whose last assignment was as vice commander of Tactical Air Command in the early 1970s, died last month at age 87. The Register-Mail of Galesburg, Ill., reported yesterday that Sweat passed away March 1 in Colorado Springs, Colo. Born in LaFayette, Ill., he undertook and completed Army Air Forces flying training before he graduated from West Point in 1943, and served in various stateside assignments before heading to Britain in January 1945 to fly P-51 Mustangs on long-range escort duty for the remainder of World War II. His career included various staff and command assignments, including service as 7th Air Force director of combat operations at Tan Son Nhut Air Field, South Vietnam. He later commanded 17th AF at Ramstein AB, Germany, before moving to TAC. He retired from USAF in 1974.
As the threat of Iranian-made drones grew, the Air Force rushed last year to equip F-15E Strike Eagles in the Middle East with a cheap, cost-effective way of defeating them. The service fielded the new capability in roughly a week.
