Devol Brett

Carroll Devol "Rock" Brett (August 1, 1923 – August 14, 2010) was a lieutenant general in the United States Air Force (USAF) who piloted aircraft during crises and wars from 1948 (the Berlin Crisis) through the Vietnam War (1960s). He served in Austria, West Germany, South Korea, South Vietnam, the United Kingdom, Iran and Turkey, before his final assignment as commander of Allied Air Forces Southern Europe in 1977. After his retirement in 1978, he was a defense consultant for more than 20 years, retiring in 1998.

Early life and education Devol Brett was born in California in 1923 at the Presidio of San Francisco, the son of U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) general George Brett. He attended private high school, at Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland, graduating in 1941. In 1945 he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

During the Korean War, Brett flew more than 100 combat missions, piloting P-51D Mustangs

Beginning in April 1957, Brett commanded the 355th Fighter Day Squadron, out of Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, which consisted of 17 F-100 Super Sabre jets. In that position, he was featured in a 1958 Time magazine article in which an editor went weightless during dozens of short climbs and dives in Brett's F100. His unit made four major deployments to Europe, including the 1958 Lebanon crisis, where his squadron was part of the first Composite Air Strike Force, and the Berlin Crisis of 1961. In 2003 he was honored by the Air Command and Staff College Gathering of Eagles Foundation, which designated him an "Eagle"; the Foundation specifically noted his actions in the Lebanon Crisis: On 14 July 1958, Rock Brett led his F-100D/F squadron in Operation DOUBLE TROUBLE, a top secret mission to deploy the first full Composite Air Strike Force from the U.S. to Turkey in support of Lebanon invoking the Eisenhower Doctrine following the 14 July coup d'etat in Iraq. This mission was also the first operational day/night transatlantic air-refueling mission by fighters. Brett's squadron was in place in less than 20 hours after notification. His leadership helped resolve the crisis and pave the way for today's critical Air Expeditionary Force deployments.

In the Vietnam War, Brett flew more than 100 missions in F-4C Phantom jet fighters. In 1967, he was shot down over North Vietnam by anti-aircraft fire. He broke his nose and cheekbone while ejecting from his aircraft, and was picked up by a search and rescue helicopter team after several hours in the water. The other member of his crew, a radar operator, did not survive.

He retired in 2009. The couple had a second child, Karla.

Hermine, who went by Mimi, died in 1999. In 2005, Brett married Lou Longino, the widow of a long-time friend of his.