operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, including the bombing missions of Operation Deliberate Force, which created the context for the U.S. to broker the Dayton Peace Accords between the parties in conflict. Ryan personally approved every NATO target during the two-week Operation Deliberate Force campaign. During his tenure, Captain Scott O'Grady was shot down in a F-16 Fighting Falcon in early June 1995 over Bosnia by a surface-to-air missile launched by the Army of Republika Srpska. O'Grady was rescued a week later. Before assuming the Chief of Staff position, General Ryan was from April 1996 to October 1997 dual-hatted as Commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Commander of Allied Air Forces Central Europe, with headquarters at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. President Bill Clinton announced the nomination of General Ryan as Chief of Staff of the Air Force on July 31, 1997. During Operation Allied Force in April 1999, General Ryan made taskings to improve the capability of the Predator drone to collect time-sensitive intelligence for targeting, the results of which would later prove useful in Operation Enduring Freedom. General Ryan formally retired from the U.S. Air Force on October 1, 2001: although the first day on the job of his successor, General John P. Jumper, was on September 11, 2001. Awards and decorations Effective dates of promotion Popular culture General Michael E. Ryan appeared as himself in the Stargate SG-1 4th season episode 19 "Prodigy", a cable television series filmed in Canada receiving technical assistance from the Air Force Entertainment Liaison Office. He agreed to guest-star on Stargate SG-1 because as he put it, "The ideas that come out of science fiction are often more science than fiction." It also appealed to Ryan's sense of wonder, "The exploration of our own solar system is this century's challenge. It would be a big surprise to find a Stargate out there." Lead actor Richard Dean Anderson later recalled asking General Ryan off camera if he had subordinates as irreverent as Anderson's character Jack O'Neill. According to Anderson the reply was, "Son, yes. We've got colonels like you and worse." References External links Official USAF Biography Appearances on C-SPAN 1941 births Living people United States Air Force Academy alumni Squadron Officer School alumni Air Command and Staff College alumni Auburn University alumni National War College alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Chiefs of Staff of the United States Air Force Recipients of the Legion