General Glen William Van Dyke, Class of 1957

Military Leader

Bill Van Dyke is a proud native of the Old Pueblo who has enjoyed living his life here and raising his family of four children who are active and involved members of the community.

Bill graduated from Tucson High in the class of 1957 and served on the THS Badger Foundation Board beginning in the year 2000.  He received his degree in Architecture from the University of Arizona in 1965 and taught Architectural Design for a period of time.  He is a Registered Architect and has designed numerous homes and buildings here in Tucson.

Bill’s military service began with basic training in 1961 with the Arizona Air National Guard. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant and subsequently received his Air Force wings in 1966.

Bill served as an Instructor Pilot with nearly 5000 hours in the F100, F102, A7, and F16 fighters. He assumed Command of 162nd Tactical Fighter Wing in 1984.  Under his Command the Unit added an additional squadron of F16’s, began the training of Foreign Military Pilots and the Unit spent over $50 million dollars on new construction, enlarging the base by 30%.

Bill was assigned the command of the Arizona Air National Guard in 1990 and was promoted to Brigadier General.  In 1994, Bill was promoted to Major General and appointed by the Governor to a cabinet level position as Adjutant General. The position placed 9000 soldiers and civilians under his direct command.   Part of his duties as Adjutant General was acting as a Liaison between the state of Arizona and the Republic of Kazakhstan which included many diplomatic missions.  In 1995, General Van Dyke was selected by the Secretary of Defense to serve on the Reserve Policy Board which directly advises the Secretary of Defense on Reserve and Guard matters.

Bill retired in 1999 at the federally recognized rank of Major General with 38 years military service.  His awards include the Defense Superior Performance Medal awarded by the Secretary of Defense, the Legion of Merit with one Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Meritorious Service Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters.  He was awarded the Order of the Sword which is awarded by the NCO Association for Excellence in Command.