commander in chief, of The Pacific Air Forces and was succeeded by his Vice Commanders-in-Chief General Joseph J. Nazzaro, who assumed Ryan's position as Strategic Air Command Commanders-in-Chief. Air Force Chief of Staff Ryan returned to the Pentagon as Vice Chief of Staff of The United States Air Force in August 1968, following the appointment of the previous Air Force Vice Chief of Staff, General Bruce K. Holloway, as Commander of the Strategic Air Command. In July 1969 following the retirement of Air Force Chief of Staff General John P. McConnell, Ryan was appointed by President Richard Nixon as Chief of Staff of The United States Air Force in August 1969. One of the more controversial moves of his tenure was the disbandment of the U.S. Air Force Pipes and Drums, the only free-standing, full-time pipe band in the U.S. armed forces. Ryan's tenure as commander of PACAF and later as Air Force Chief of Staff also engendered controversy when he was described as one of a group that helped destroy General Jack Lavelle's career after Lavelle gave fighter pilots permission to shoot back at bona fide threats, something previously denied them by rules of engagement. This was also related to the court-martial of Colonel Jack Broughton, after Broughton attempted to protect one of his pilots who shot back at an anti-aircraft position also in apparent violation of rules of engagement. Ryan's "undue command influence" later resulted in the overturning and expungement of Broughton's conviction by the USAF Board for the Correction of Military Records. During his tenure as Air Force Chief of Staff, Ryan also realized that the Air Force was in need of a complete overhaul that emphasized training, readiness and understanding. According to Mark Perry 1989 military history book Four Stars: The Inside Story of The Forty-Year Battle Between The Joint Chiefs of Staff and America's Civilian Leaders, Ryan was considered one of the Air Force's major air power strategists in the end of 1960s and was one of the able successors to Curtis LeMay and Thomas D. White. Ryan was also quoted as one of the military's leading critics of the can-do spirit which permeated the New Frontier-Great Society national Leadership. Ryan was also quoted as one of the more outspoken and "stronger Chiefs" within the Joint Chiefs of Staff parlance, especially regarding the slanting of a policy or story that far beyond the truth. General