Colonel Richard L. Long

Army Aviation Hall of Fame 1989 Induction

     Few Hall of Fame nominees have pursued three separate, consecutive careers– in the military, civilian and government sectors - that have brought them in contact with so many elements that make up Army Aviation, or have served in an outstanding manner in almost every job that characterizes this segment of our society.

     COL Richard L. "Dick" Long was such a person. He had 37 years of federal service, each year of which involved direct aviation-related activities impacting on Army aviation and those who serve in this the Combat Arms today.

     From his first days as an artillery 2LT undergoing L-Pilot training in November 1942, until later in life, Long's day-in and day-out duties were devoted to Army aviation.

     Long flew combat flight tours in North Africa; Sicily, Italy; and Southern France during World War II. Following the war he served as the Seventh Army aviation officer; and in his post-war career as a maintenance officer, test pilot, an Army Staff officer, and eventually in an assignment as a Senior Executive Service Department of the Army Civilian.

     A special inductee, Long performed in an outstanding manner for almost four decades in three separate careers-- an Army officer, an aerospace industry executive, and as an Army civilian.

     During his 1942 to 1965 military career, he was a highly decorated aviator who served with distinction in assignments ranging from aviation and group commander in the field to aviation research and development tours at the highest levels.

     Following his 1965 retirement, Long used his aeronautical engineer degree earned between Purdue and Princeton Universities, with Sikorsky Aircraft as a senior project engineer in Advanced Projects, where he was responsible for translating new concepts into experimental hardware.

     In his third career as an senior government service civilian from 1972 to 1984, Long served as a deputy director of Research, Development & Engineering at the U.S. Army Aviation Systems Command in St. Louis, Mo. His actions here greatly helped Army aviation's $2.8 billion, 14,000-aircraft fleet in worldwide use at the time.

     From 1980 to 1984, Long served as the director of the Army Structures Laboratory at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., where he directed basic research and exploratory developments to meet Army aviation's operational needs.

     COL Richard Long's enduring contributions to Army aviation spanning more that four decades has truly marked him worthy of induction into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame.

 

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