Alton D. Slay

General, U.S. Air Force

Alton D. Slay was born on 11 November 1924 in Crystal Springs, MS. He graduated from flying school at Craig Field, AL, in 1944 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Forces.

During his military career, Slay's assignments included:

Deputy Chief of Staff, Research and Development, Headquarters USAF, Washington, D.C.;

Vice Commander of Air Training Command, San Antonio, TX;

Commander of the Lowry Technical Training Command, Denver;

Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, Seventh Air Force, in Southeast Asia;

Director of Operations, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV);

Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, Air Force Systems Command;

Commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, CA;

Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Operations, U.S. Air Forces in Europe.

Slay was promoted to the four-star rank of General on 1 April 1978 and was assigned Command of Air Force Systems Command. That was his final command before retirement.

General Slay retired from the Air Force on 31 January 1981.

He was a Command Pilot with over 8,000 flying hours, principally in single-engine and jet fighter aircraft, accumulated during his Air Force service. He flew 181 combat missions over Southeast Asia in jet fighters. He was a graduate of the Navy Parachutist School and wears the Senior Air Force Parachutist Badge and the Senior Missileman Badge.

Slay is a 1965 graduate of George Washington University at Washington, DC, with a degree in Mathematics; the Harvard University Advanced Management Program; and the Canadian National Defense College.

Personal

In 2005, Slay won four gold medals at the National Senior Games in cycling. As of 2007, at age 83, he was still competing in the Senior Games cycling events.