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Brigadier General
Daniel W Litwhiler
Permanent Professor 1986–2006
Vice Dean of the Faculty 1991–1994
B.S., Florida State University
M.S., Florida State University
Ph.D., University of Oklahoma
Danny Litwhiler, the Academy’s 49th Permanent Professor, was born in Ringtown, Pennsylvania, in 1942 and grew up as a “baseball brat” (his father was a National League baseball player). Attending Florida State University, Tallahassee, he played baseball for a couple years until the coach, his father, subtly informed him he had a much better future in mathematics. He graduated in 1963 with a double major with Honors in Mathematics and Math Education, and in 1964 a commission as a Distinguished Graduate from the AFROTC. He stayed in school another year to earn his Master’s degree in Mathematics, then entered active duty in 1965 at Keesler AFB, MS, for training as a Ground Electronics Officer (radars). Following another electronics school at Lowry AFB, CO, he was assigned to Chiang Mai, Thailand, directing operations at an Atomic Energy Detection System facility, 1967–1969. He then cross-trained into the management analyst field at Sheppard AFB, TX, before being assigned to Tinker AFB, OK, 1969–1970, as Management Analyst and Comptroller, Southern Communications Area, Air Force Communications Command. He next was assigned for two years to HQ Fifth Air Force, Tokyo, Japan, as the Programs Officer for all Air Force phase downs associated with the Okinawa Reversion. In 1972 he began his Academy service as an Instructor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences. After two years, Danny was sponsored for a PhD in Industrial Engineering/Operations Research, which he earned at Oklahoma in 1976. Returning to the Academy for a four-year tour, 1977–1981, he was made a Tenure Associate Professor. In 1981–1982 he was sent for a career-broadening assignment to the Secretary of the Air Force’s Staff Group, the Pentagon, Washington, DC, where he was an Issues and Policy Analyst and Speechwriter for Secretary Verne Orr. Back at the Academy he served as President of the faculty’s Tenure Council. Among the many contributions of his team of tenured officers are the first manpower algorithm for the faculty, used successfully to justify manning in the face of threatened reductions, and a revision to the Dean’s Grading Guidelines, a unique tool for assuring that grade inflation is kept to a minimum. He also served as Deputy Department Head until 1985 when he was sent to the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Washington, DC. He was appointed as Permanent Professor and Head of the Department of Mathematical Sciences in 1986. In cooperation with three other departments, he created the interdisciplinary Operations Research major, one of the very first in the nation. He was Vice Dean of the Faculty, December 1991–June 1994. Spanning the years 1972 to 1998, he was also an Assistant Coach and Officer Representative for the Academy’s intercollegiate baseball team, satisfying a life goal of teaching and coaching. From 2000 to 2002 he took a sabbatical assignment to US European Command, Stuttgart, Germany, as the Theater Basing Strategist, leading a joint service team identifying potential facilities that could be returned to host nations. He was promoted to brigadier general and retired in 2006.