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Brigadier General
Raymond E. Franck Jr.
Permanent Professor 1989–2000
B.S., United States Air Force Academy
A.M., Harvard University
Ph.D., Harvard University
Raymond “Chip” Franck, the Academy’s 56th Permanent Professor, was born in Sac City, Iowa, in 1945. He was a 1967 Distinguished Graduate from the United States Air Force Academy with a major in International Affairs. Following graduation, he entered Harvard on a National Science Foundation Fellowship and earned his Master’s degree in Economics in 1969. He later returned to Harvard and completed his PhD in Economics in 1983. Chip earned his pilot wings in 1970 at Columbus AFB, MS, and was assigned to fly the B-57 from several locations: Holloman AFB, NM; MacDill AFB, FL; Ubon Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand; Kadena Air Base, Japan; and Malmstrom AFB, MT. In 1975–1976 he was assigned to the Joint Operational Control Center at Keflavik Naval Station, Iceland, after which he returned to the Academy as Instructor of Economics in the Department of Economics, Geography and Management. Chip was next assigned to serve as a Staff Analyst for Bomber Programs, Office of the Secretary of Defense for Program Analysis and Evaluation, the Pentagon, Washington, DC, 1980–1982, where he was lead analyst for strategic bombers and related issues of aerial tankers and cruise missiles. In 1982 after B-52 training, he went to Barksdale AFB, LA, as Aircraft Commander and later served on the Wing Operations Staff. From 1985 to 1989, he was assigned to HQ Strategic Air Command, Offutt AFB, NE, as Deputy Chief, Program Evaluation Division and Special Assistant to the Commander. In this role, he helped frame modernization of nuclear forces within a national strategy for deterrence. In 1989 Chip was appointed Permanent Professor and Head, Department of Economics and Geography. Under his leadership, the department increased its research in defense-relevant economics and its outreach to other federal agencies. He brought in visiting professors from DIA, CIA, RAND Corp., and the Council of Economic Advisors. Working with Air Weather Service and the Air Staff, he helped established the Academy’s interdisciplinary Meteorology major and the Harmon Meteorology Laboratory that supports it. From 1994 to 1996 he was on sabbatical assignment as Visiting Professor and Associate Dean of the School of Intelligence Studies at the Joint Military Intelligence College, Bolling AFB, Washington, DC. Chip was promoted to brigadier general and retired from active duty in 2000.
After retiring, Chip joined the faculty of the Systems Management Department, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA. In 2002 he was promoted to Chair of the newly formed Systems Engineering Department. An active scholar throughout his career, Chip authored or co-authored many publications related to analysis of defense strategy and policy. He retired from NPS in 2012.