General John Paul McConnell (February 7, 1908 – November 21, 1986) was the sixth Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. As chief of staff, McConnell served in a dual capacity. He was a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff which, as a body, acts as the principal military adviser to the President of the United States, the National Security Council, and the Secretary of Defense. In his other capacity, he was responsible to the Secretary of the Air Force for managing the vast human and materiel resources of the world's most powerful aerospace force. Early life and education John Paul McConnell was the son of Dr. Samuel Paul McConnell, a medical doctor, and Desseau M. (Dorsey) McConnell. A native of Booneville, Arkansas, McConnell graduated magna cum laude from Henderson Brown College at Arkadelphia, Arkansas, with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1927. He entered West Point a year later and, at the time of his graduation on June 10, 1932, was First Captain of the Corps of Cadets. After taking flying training at Randolph and Kelly Fields, Texas, he received his pilot wings in 1933. Military career A fighter pilot during his early years in the then-Army Air Corps, later Army Air Forces, McConnell gained broad experience through a variety of operational and administrative assignments, including duty as assistant executive in the Office of the Chief of Air Forces in Washington. Subsequently, he served in key Air Force positions in both Asia and Europe. In 1943 McConnell became chief of staff of the China-Burma-India Air Force Training Command at Karachi, India (later part of Pakistan), and remained in Asia for the rest of World War II. While senior air staff officer, Air Command Southeast Asia, and deputy commander of the Third Tactical Air Force in 1944, he participated in combat operations against the Japanese in Burma. In 1946 he was named senior air adviser to the Chinese government and, at the same time, commanded the Air Division, Nanking Headquarters Command. McConnell returned to Air Force Headquarters in Washington, D.C. in 1947 to become chief of the Reserve and National Guard Division and, the next year, was appointed chief of the Air Force's Civilian Components Group. Assigned to England in 1950, he served as deputy commander and later, commander of the Third Air Force. He then took command of the 7th Air Division of the Strategic Air