Edwin W. Rawlings - Air Comptroller Pioneer

Air Comptroller Pioneer

In November 1946, Symington named Rawlings as air comptroller, helping to organize the office. The position was so successful and struck such a note—Rawlings did such a magnificent job—they adopted the idea of a comptroller for all three services. Zuckert said, "This was a very important step in the development of a postwar Air Force."

In 1951, Rawlings became commander of Air Material Command at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, leading USAF's procurement and logistics efforts for seven years. Air Force Chief of Staff Thomas D. White credited him with spectacular increases in the effectiveness of the Air Force logistics, ... accomplished through new management methods, concepts, and philosophy, and thus the Air Force has been able to match the tempo of the jet, missile, and space era.

Rawlings was a command pilot and combat and aircraft observer, whose decorations included the Distinguished Service Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross, which he received in 1930 for his role in the rescue of an aircrew downed in the Pacific. He also received the Soldier's Medal in 1954 for rescuing his pilot who was lying underneath a B-17 Flying Fortress that caught fire after landing at Wright-Patterson.