Retired Gen. T. Ross Milton, who led the second bombing raid on Schweinfurt, Germany, in October 1943, and the first successful daylight strike on Berlin five months later, died from a stroke Tuesday in Oro Valley, Ariz. He was 94. Born to an Army family in 1915 in Hawaii, Milton graduated from West Point in 1940. He completed pilot training in 1941, and flew in Eighth Air Force during World War II. He later served as chief of staff, Combined Berlin Airlift Task Force in 1948-49, commander of 41st Air Division and of 13th Air Force, USAF inspector general, and USAF comptroller. Milton retired in 1974. In 1985, he received the Thomas D. White National Defense Award for his contributions to the nation’s security. Milton was a longtime contributor to Air Force Magazine. (Air University’s Milton biography) (See Inside the Berlin Airlift, an article Milton penned in 1998 for Air Force Magazine.)
When acting Air Force Secretary Gary A. Ashworth rescinded service-wide “Family Days” last week citing the need to build readiness, he left it up to commanders, directors, and supervisors to decide if they would still permit extra days off. Here’s how Air Force major commands are taking that guidance.