in March 1988. Dugan assumed command of United States Air Forces in Europe on April 12, 1989 and was promoted to general on May 1, 1989, with the same date of rank. He went on to become Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force in July 1990. As chief, he served as the senior uniformed USAF officer responsible for the organization, training and equipage of a combined active duty, Air National Guard, Reserve and civilian force of nearly 1 million people serving at approximately 3,000 locations in the United States and overseas. As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he and the other service chiefs functioned as the principal military advisers to the Secretary of Defense, National Security Council and the President. During his brief tenure as Chief of Staff, Alaskan Air Command stood down, and was reduced to Numbered Air Force status as Headquarters, Eleventh Air Force, falling under the jurisdiction of Pacific Air Forces. Dugan is a command pilot with 4,500 flying hours and 300 combat missions. His military decorations include the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, Air Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters and Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm. Removal from post In September 1990, during the lead-up to the Persian Gulf War after Saddam Hussein's Iraq had invaded Kuwait, Dugan revealed to reporters that the U.S. military had plans to bomb Baghdad relentlessly and "decapitate" the Iraqi leadership by targeting Hussein personally, along with his family, his senior commanders, his palace guard and even his mistress. He said that he had personally "assigned a team to find Iraqi military defectors, knowledgeable professors, Iraqi expatriates and journalists who recently have visited Baghdad to learn more about Iraqi culture" so that he could get "a better list" of targets that would cause the most psychological damage to the Iraqi people if bombed. "The list stressed the importance of attacking Hussein and his inner circle, but beyond that, Dugan would not detail the potential Iraqi leverage points he intend[ed] to try to destroy." U.S. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, who had warned Dugan previously about speaking with journalists because he was known to be "loose-lipped," fired General Dugan, saying Dugan had showed "poor judgment at a sensitive time" adding, "We never talk about the