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Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
The Highley Family

Col Bob Highley entered the US Air Force on 1 September 1965 as a Strategic Air Command Navigator on KC-135 Extenders. He flew two tanker tours over Vietnam, from September 1967 to March 1968 and again from September 1968 to March 1969. He was then selected for Undergraduate Pilot Training at Moody AFB. He graduated at the top of his Class, 70-08 and went on to fly the F-4 Phantom. He was deployed to the 497th FTS at Ubon AB in support of operations in Vietnam. From there, he was assigned to various tactical and training squadrons for the F-4 at Davis-Monthan AFB, MacDill AFB, and Hill AFB. While at MacDill, he was a Flight Commander in the legendary 94th "Hat in the Ring" squadron which Eddie Rickenbacker made famous. He was sent to Iran to work with the Armish MAAG and, while there, flew the Iranian Air Force's F-5. He and his family were hastily evacuated in December of 1978 when the Iranian revolution broke out. The then Maj. Highley evacuate just two weeks before the students stormed the US embassy in Tehran in early 1979. Upon his return, he was assigned to Tactical Air Command Headquarters at Langley AFB. He then cross-trained in the F-16 Falcon and was assigned to MacDill AFB once again. He was assigned to the 62nd TFTS as their Operations Officer and then the Squadron Commander of the 63rd TFTS. He was subsequently picked to be the Deputy Operations Group Commander for the 56th TFTW. His leadership talents led him to be assigned to Readiness Command (REDCOM) which later became SOCOM. Based on his superior performance in the Command, he was selected for promotion to 0-6. He was later assigned to be the Chief of Support Activities for the United States Training Mission in Saudi Arabia. There, he was responsible for the overall US military infrastructure across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Following that two year tour, he was assigned to the 9th Air Force at Shaw AFB, as Chief of Plans and Exercises. Shortly thereafter, he was re-deployed to the Gulf region in support of the First Gulf War in 1990. There he was a member of Lt Gen Chuck Homer's Air Staff as a Liaison Officer to the United Arab Emirates. Following the conclusion of the war, he returned to the 9th and retired in September of 1992. Col Highley's numerous decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross with two devices, the Bronze Star, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal with one device, the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with one device, the Air Medal with 16 devices, as well as the Southwest Asia Service Medal and the Vietnam Service medal.