Claude M. Bolton Jr.

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Claude Milburn Bolton Jr.
497th TF Sqdn
Commands heldDef Sys Mgmt Coll
AFSAC
Battles/warsVietnam War
Awards Dist. Svc Medal
Legion of Merit
United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology
In office
2 January 2002 – 2 January 2008[3]

Claude Milburn Bolton Jr.[4] was a United States Air Force major general who served also as United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology from 2002 to 2008.[1][5]

Early life

Claude M. Bolton Jr. was born in 1945 in Sioux City, Iowa. He was educated at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, receiving a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1969.

Military career

While in college, he served in the

command pilot. In 1974, he attended the five-week-long Squadron Officer School at Maxwell Air Force Base. From 1974 to 1976, he was an instructor pilot at RAF Upper Heyford.[6][7]

Bolton then spent all of 1977 at the

Troy State University
.

Major General Claude M. Bolton Jr. shortly before his retirement.

Bolton spent the next phase of his Air Force career in

Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit Program System Office. From 1989 to 1992, he was program director of the AGM-129 ACM System Program Office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Also, in 1991, he completed a master's degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College. Remaining at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, from 1992 to 1993, he was inspector general of the Air Force Materiel Command
.

He was then

Program Executive Officer for fighter and bomber programs in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition). He was then commanding officer of the Air Force Security Assistance Center 2000–2002. As such, he was responsible for overseeing over $90 billion of sales of military equipment to foreign countries. He retired from the Air Force in 2002, having attained the rank of major general
.

Effective dates of promotion

Source: [6][7]

Insignia Rank Date
Major general March 20, 1998
Brigadier general August 1, 1993
Colonel July 1, 1988
Lieutenant colonel March 1, 1984
Major May 1, 1980
Captain May 30, 1972
First lieutenant
 November 30, 1970
Second lieutenant May 31, 1969


Civilian career

In 2002, while serving the commander of Air Force Security Assistance and Cooperation Command at Wright-Patterson AFB,

Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom and was considered by many to be an unusually long period of time for such a stressful appointment. According to his wife, Linda Bolton, he stayed in the job for a long period because felt compelled to ensure that soldiers in battle were receiving the best equipment possible.[5]

During his tenure as the Army's senior acquisition official, Bolton received an

honorary doctorate from Cranfield University in 2006, and a second honorary doctorate from his alma mater, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, in 2007.[5]

On January 3, 2008, Bolton became executive-in-residence of the Defense Acquisition University at Fort Belvoir, where he taught DAU's executive-level Program Manager's course, a ten-week course designed for experienced acquisition practitioners who had been selected for their potential as leaders of major acquisition programs.

Bolton died unexpectedly at his home on July 28, 2015. At the time of his death he was training for the

Air Force Marathon, an event he participated in annually with his two daughters.[5]

His engagement with the [Program Manager's Course] students helped to thoroughly enrich the experience for each student he interacted with, as he contributed his knowledge and experience to the course. He will be missed, not only by the students, but also by the faculty, with whom he spent many hours over the last few years, providing assistance and valuable feedback that directly influenced the quality of instruction and the course

— Dr. Michael C. Ryan, Defense Acquisition University [5]

References

  1. ^ a b c "The Loss of a Leader in Defense Acquisition: Claude M. Bolton Jr., 1945–2015" (PDF). Defense AT&L: 30–31. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Obituary: Claude Bolton Jr". Sioux City Journal. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  3. ^ Army Public Affairs (30 November 2007). "Top Army Acquisition Chief to Step Down". Army News Service. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  4. ^ U.S. Senate (4 December 2001). "Nominations Before the Senate Armed Services Committee, First Session, 107th Congress" (PDF). Senate Hearing 107-749. U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Roth, Margaret C. (October–December 2015) ""A People Person Remembered", Army AL&T, pages 102-108 B2 [1]
  6. ^ a b "Biography of Brig. Gen. Claude M. Bolton". Air Force Historical Research Agency. October 31, 1996. pp. 12–14.
  7. ^ a b "Biography of Maj. Gen. Claude M. Bolton". United States Air Force. June 9, 2024.

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Government offices
Preceded by United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology
2 January 2002 – 2 January 2008 		Succeeded by
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