More detail on this person: Lt Gen (ret) James
S. Cassity, resident of Fair Oaks Ranch, passed
away on Tuesday, December 30. Gen Cassity was
born June 17, 1935 to Juanita and Shelby and
considered Gary, Texas, his hometown. He was a
1958 graduate of Texas A&M University and
received a Master of Science degree in systems
management from the University of Southern
California in 1969. In addition, he completed the
Air War College, the Defense Systems
Management College and the advanced
management program at Harvard.
Gen Cassity received his commission through
ROTC in 1958. He earned his pilot wings at Laredo
AFB, Texas. He is a command pilot with more than
4,500 flying hours, including 180 combat hours in
helicopters during Vietnam. In 1964 he was
assigned to Air Force Special Operations at Howard
AFB, Canal Zone. From 1970 - 1974 he worked in
the F-15 Systems Program Office at Wright
Patterson AFB, Ohio.
General Cassity's Communications and Information
career started in 1974 when he was assigned to
Headquarters, Electronic Systems Division,
Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts. He went on to lead
a variety of C&I organizations including the
Engineering Installation Center, served on the HQ
USAFE staff as DCS for information systems, and
the NORAD and Air Force Space Command DS for
Communications. In 1988, he was appointed
Commander, Air Force Communications Command.
His final military assignment was Director,
Command Control and Communications System for
the Joint Staff which supported National Command
Authority and specified commands on operations.
He retired from the Air Force July 1, 1991.
After his military retirement, Jim was vice
president and general manager for C4 and
Information Management Systems at BDM
International and later TRW. He enjoyed working in
the church, handing out Gideon Bibles and playing
golf. Jim was married to Patricia Ann Smith on
July 3, 1959. He is survived by her and by his
children, Marcus Andrew Cassity and Judith Lynn
Fitz and her husband, Jim, and two grandchildren,
Eric and Elena. His mother, Lily Juanita Cassity
also survives her son.
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, January
6 at 10:00 am at First United Methodist Church in
Boerne. A luncheon reception will follow. Burial
with full military honors will be at Fort Sam
Houston National Cemetery at 2:15 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial
contributions to the Gideon's International, San
Antonio North West Camp No. 4223.5, P.O. Box
681505, San Antonio, Texas 78268-1505 or First
United Methodist Church, 205 James St., Boerne,
Texas 78006.
BIO:
Lieutenant General James S. Cassity Jr. is
director, command, control and communications
systems, the Joint Staff. The directorate supports
National Command Authority and all unified and
specified commands on joint and combined military
operations. It also develops and validates
joint/combined C3 requirements ensures integration
of strategic and theater C3 systems, develops
master plans and net assessments, and plays a
critical role in the C3 interoperability of U.S.
armed forces.
General Cassity was born in 1935 and considers
Gary, Texas, his hometown. He is a 1958 graduate
of Texas A&M University and received a master of
science degree in systems management from the
University of Southern California in 1969. He is a
graduate of Defense Systems Management
College, the Air War College and has completed
Harvard Business School's advanced management
program.
The general was commissioned through the
Reserve Officer Training Corps program in 1958 and
earned his pilot wings at Laredo Air Force Base,
Texas. He is a command pilot with more than 4,500
flying hours, including 180 combat hours in
helicopters. General Cassity's operational
assignments include flying H-21 helicopters in
support of missile testing at Hurlburt Field,
Fla., in 1961 and 1962, then two years in the
airborne early warning mission at Otis Air Force
Base, Mass., as an EC-121 pilot and aircraft
commander.
In 1964 he was assigned to Air Force Special
Operations, spending three years in South America
flying C-46 transports with the 605th Air Commando
Squadron at Howard Air Force Base, Canal Zone,
and one year in Southeast Asia flying CH-3s with
the 20th and 21st Helicopter squadrons, returning
in 1968.
General Cassity was assigned to the F-15 System
Program Office, Aeronautical Systems Division,
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, in 1970,
working in various management positions in the
Configuration Management Directorate. From 1974
to 1978 he was assigned to Headquarters
Electronic Systems Division, Hanscom Air Force
Base, Mass., in the Office of the Deputy for
Security Assistance Programs as director of
business operation; then, later, as system program
director for the Combat Grande Program, Office of
the Deputy for Surveillance and Navigation. In
1979 he became assistant deputy chief of staff for
engineering, programs and acquisition, Air Force
Communications Command, Scott Air Force Base,
I11.
In July 1981 General Cassity was named
commander of the Engineering Installation Center,
Air Force Communications Command, Oklahoma
City Air Force Station, Okla. The center, now
known as the Engineering Installation Division, is
the Air Force single manager for engineering and
installation of communications-electronics systems
and facilities. In August 1983 he was assigned as
deputy chief of staff for information systems at
Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe and
commander of the European Information Systems
Division, Ramstein Air Base, West Germany. He
was responsible for USAFE's communications,
computer and air traffic control systems, and
supported other Air Force major commands, as well
as the Defense Communications Agency, U.S.
European Command and NATO.
Returning to the United States in July 1985,
General Cassity served as commander, Space
Information Systems Division, and deputy chief of
staff, Communications Electronics and Computer
Resources, Headquarters North American
Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Air Force
Space Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.
With the activation of U.S. Space Command in
September 1985, he became director of command
and control systems and logistics, and deputy
chief of staff for systems integration, logistics
and support, Air Force Space Command, managing
and directing the command's efforts in
communications, computers, logistics and
contracting.
In March 1988 General Cassity assumed command
of the Air Force Communications Command,
headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, I11. With
more than 55,000 employees in 400 locations
worldwide and a budget of almost $3 billion, AFCC
engineers, acquires and maintains
communications, computer and air traffic control
equipment for the Air Force. He assumed his
present duties in May 1989.
The general's military decorations and awards
include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal,
Silver Star, Legion of Merit with two oak leaf
clusters, Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf
cluster, Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Air
Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf
clusters, Air Force Organizational Excellence
Award with three oak leaf clusters, Armed Forces
Expeditionary Service Medal and Vietnam Service
Medal with three service stars.
He was promoted to lieutenant general Oct. 1,
1989, with same date of rank.
(Current as of November 1989)
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site: 04/13/2025
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