Brigadier General Albert J. Lenski is
deputy commander of the 22nd North American Aerospace Defense
Command Region at Canadian Forces Base North Bay, Ontario,
Canada. Commanded by a Canadian Forces major general, the 22nd
is the largest of the command's eight regions. It encompasses
much of eastern and all of northern Canada. General Lenski is
the senior U.S. military officer in Canada.
General
Lenski was born in 1930, in Chicago where he graduated from
Kelvyn Park High School in 1948. He received his bachelor of
arts degree in economics from the University of Iowa, Iowa
City, in 1952. Upon graduation he also received his Air Force
commission through the university's Air Force, Reserve
Officers' Training Corps program. General Lenski is a 1957
graduate from Squadron Officer School and the Air Command and
Staff College in 1966. Both schools are located at Maxwell Air
Force Base, Ala.
After receiving his commission
General Lenski attended primary pilot training from August
1952 to February 1953 at Hondo Air Force Base, Texas. He then
entered basic pilot training at Bryan Air Force Base, Texas,
graduating in October 1953. From there he attended advanced
flying school at Perrin Air Force Base, Texas, flying F-86D's
until graduation in February 1954.
His first tour of
duty was flying F-86D's with the 97th Fighter-Interceptor
Squadron at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, from March
1954 to October 1958. He served as a flight commander with the
357th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, flying F-86D's at
Nouasseur Air Base, Morocco, until February 1960. He then
became an RF-101 pilot and served as a flight commander with
the 38th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron at Phalsbourg and
Toul-Rosieres air bases, France, from March 1960 to November
1961.
From November 1961
to July 1965, he served as a flight commander and assistant
operations officer flying F-106s with the 318th
Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at McChord Air Force Base, Wash.
Following Air Command and
Staff College, he spent three months training in F-105s at
McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., prior to joining the 333rd
Tactical Fighter Squadron at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base,
Thailand, in January 1967. For the next eight months he served
as flight commander and assistant operations officer while
flying a combat tour in F-105s.
In August 1967 he was
assigned as chief, standardization evaluation, at the Air
Defense Weapons Center, Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., until
1969. While at Tyndall he completed the F-106 Interceptor
Weapons School from January to March 1969. In April 1969 he
was appointed the school's commander. He became commander of
the 71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, flying F-106s at
Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., in July 1970.
From
July 1971 to July 1972, he served as director, operations and
training, 24th North American Air Defense Command Region at
Malmstrom. In July 1972 General Lenski was assigned to
Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C., as deputy and
then chief, Aerospace Defense Division, Office of the Director
of Operations.
He became deputy commander for
operations, 26th North American Air Defense Command Region,
Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., in July 1974. In February 1976 he
was assigned as deputy director of inspection, Air Force
Inspection and Safety Center, Norton Air Force Base, Calif.
In July 1977 the general was named vice commander of
the Alaskan Air Command, with additional duty of deputy
commander, Alaskan North American Air Defense Command Region,
Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. He assumed his present
duties in June 1980.
General Linski is a command pilot
with more than 4,700 hours flying time in T-6s, T-28s, T-33s
F-86D's and L's, RF-101s, F-105s and F-106s. He logged 100
combat missions over North Vietnam as a strike pilot in
F-105s. His military decorations and awards include the Legion
of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf
clusters, Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf
clusters, Air Medal with nine oak leaf clusters, Joint Service
Commendation Medal and Air Force Commendation medal.
He was promoted to brigadier general March 1, 1980, with date
of rank Feb. 24, 1980. Brigadier General Lenski retired
on October 1, 1988.
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