MG Charles F. Means
MG Charles F. Means was born on 22 March 1928 in East Liverpool, Ohio. He graduated from the U.S. Army Military Academy in 1950 with a bachelor's degree in military science and was commissioned a second lieutenant. He also earned a master's degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Michigan. Additional education included graduation from the U.S. Army Artillery and Guided Missile School in 1957; the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in 1964; and the U.S. Army War College in 1969.
General Means' military career was spent largely in missile research and development or missile-armed Army combat units. His early service included duty as a platoon leader and battery executive officer with the 4th Infantry Division in Germany until 1954. He then became an artillery instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
General Means first came to Redstone Arsenal in 1959 where he was assigned to the Army Ordnance Missile Command (AOMC) as Staff Supervisor of Research and Development Test Programs of the Army's surface-to-surface missile systems. He then became the chief of the Development Coordination Section, PERSHING Branch, Research and Development Directorate, AOMC. Later, General Means served as deputy chief of Engineering in the PERSHING Missile Project Manager's Office.
In 1964, General Means was assigned to Kwajalein Island in the Pacific as chief of the NIKE-X (later SENTINEL, then SAFEGUARD) Missile Operations Division. He was later named as chief of the Kwajalein Range Operations Division. Following an assignment as the chief of the Advanced Weapons System Branch in Logistics at the Army Air Defense Command Headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, General Means became commander of a NIKE HERCULES missile unit, designated the 3rd Battalion, 59th Artillery (Air Defense), in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Other key assignments included the U.S. Army Concept Team in Vietnam; the Office of the Secretary of Defense in Washington, D.C.; and the North American Air Defense Command at Ent Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
General Means became the SAM-D (Surface-to-Air Missile Development, later PATRIOT) Project Manager, U.S. Army Missile Command, on 7 September 1973, a position he held for 4 years. On 15 July 1977, he was appointed Commander of the U.S. Army Missile Research and Development Command (MIRADCOM). He remained the MIRADCOM Commander until 15 August 1978.
General Means received a number of medals and awards. They included the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters), the Army Commendation Medal (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters), and the Vietnamese Armed Forces Honor Medal, 1st Class.
