Editing David C. Jones (section)

== United States Air Force Chief of Staff ==
[[File:General David C. Jones and Senator Barry Goldwater.jpg|left|thumb|222x222px|Air Force Chief of Staff General David C. Jones with U.S. Senator [[Barry Goldwater]]]]

Capping a career that had included operational and command positions in bomber, tanker, training and tactical fighter units as well as headquarters staff positions, General Jones was nominated by President [[Richard Nixon]] as the ninth [[Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force|Chief of Staff of The United States Air Force]] in July 1974, following the appointment of General George S. Brown as the eight Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff. As Chief of Staff of The United States Air Force, General Jones responsible for administering, training and equipping all of the airmen employing in the world's largest Air Force.<ref name=":5" /> During his tenure as Air Force Chief of Staff General Jones also advocated for the development of high-technology of future weapons systems and also reorganized the Air Force command structure.<ref name=":0" /> He supported modernization with such systems as the [[F-15]], [[F-16]], the [[Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II|A–10]], and the [[Boeing E-3 Sentry|E–3A]].

[[File:General David Jones showing the Cambodia Aerial Photograph during The National Security Council at the Mayaguez Incident.jpg|thumb|General David C. Jones briefed the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]] at the [[White House]], during The [[Mayaguez incident|Mayaguez Incident]] on May 12, 1975.|alt=]]
[[File:Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff General George S. Brown and Air Force Chief of Staff General David C. Jones.jpg|thumb|[[Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force|United States Air Force Chief of Staff]] General David C. Jones with [[Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff|Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff]] General [[George Scratchley Brown|George S. Brown]] at [[White House|The White House]], in 1977.|alt=]]

General Jones emphasized the needs of modernized the Air Force following the end of the Vietnam War and in order to stop the Soviet armored thrust. As a result, the Fairchild A-10 Warthog aircraft was built to become the primary survivable tank killer. That program was followed by the [[General Dynamics–Grumman EF-111A Raven|General Dynamics EF-111]] to counter Soviet air mobile defenses, along with the [[Boeing E-3 Sentry]] AWACS, which served to provide picture and detail of the airborne battlefield.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|last=Jones|first=David C.|title=David C. Jones|url=https://www.airforcemag.com/PDF/MagazineArchive/Magazine%20Documents/2014/August%202014/0814jones.pdf |access-date=July 22, 2020|publisher=airforcemag.com}}</ref> Much of the modernization program was focused on the European area, where the United States developed initiatives in response to [[Georgia Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] and congressional interest for an increase in the capability of NATO.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6" />

During his tenure as Air Force Chief of Staff General Jones also oversaw the improvements in the working relationship between the Air Force, Army and Navy. General Jones also developed an emerging concepts of air and ground integration that would eventually result in the Air-Land Battle Doctrine.<ref name=":6" /> The concepts and the battle doctrine was developed in order to oppose the growing Soviet conventional threat within the Central Europe.<ref name=":6" /> In May 1975 following a cable from [[Embassy of the United States, Jakarta|United States Embassy in Jakarta]], [[Indonesia]] which informed an SOS and Mayday signals from a U.S. merchant vessel [[SS Mayaguez|SS ''Mayaguez'']] that has been attacked and seized by [[Khmer Rouge]] militia following their [[Fall of Phnom Penh|took control of Cambodian Capital Phnom Penh]]; this event lead to a military crisis known as the [[Mayaguez incident]].<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|last=Lamb|first=Christopher|title=The Mayaguez Crisis, Mission Command, and Civil-Military Relations|publisher=Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff|date=June 21, 2019|isbn=978-1075296253}}</ref> During the incident, General Jones served as the acting Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff due to the fact that Chairman Gen. George S. Brown was in Europe for a NATO Summit at that time of the Mayaguez Incident.<ref name=":7" /> General Jones advised President [[Gerald Ford]], Secretary of Defense [[James Schlesinger]] and the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]] on a range of military options, including the plan for military operations to rescue the crew of SS ''Mayaguez''. The United States initially launch a rescue operation, by deploying U.S. Marines to recaptured the SS ''Mayaguez'' and also attacked the island of Koh Tang, on which it was believed the crew of the SS ''Mayaguez'' was held imprisonment by the Khmer Rouge.<ref name=":7" /> The crew of the SS ''Mayaguez'' was finally rescued, however General Jones saw a complex communication and relationship between the military and the civilian officials during the ''Mayaguez'' Incident. The ''Mayaguez'' crisis was the one that eventually convinced General Jones of the need for change within the military and civilian relationship, especially during a military crisis and wartime situation.<ref name=":7" /> This became a crucial factor in the enactment of the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act.<ref name=":7" /> On May 31, 1978, Jones was awarded the [[Order of the Sword (United States)|Order of the Sword]], the Air Force enlisted force's highest honor for officer leadership.<ref name=":6" />