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Retired Maj. Gen. Philip G. Killey, a Vietnam War fighter pilot who went on to serve as director of the Air National Guard from 1988 to 1994, the Operation Desert Storm era, died Sunday in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was 84.
Killey began his military career as an Air Force F-4 fighter pilot, flying 129 combat missions in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War from 1967 to 1968, including 100 over North Vietnam. Overall, he amassed 6,500 flight hours in multiple aircraft during his career.
He left active duty in 1969 and joined the South Dakota Air Guard’s 114th Tactical Fighter Group in 1970. He rose through the ranks quickly, becoming the adjutant general of South Dakota from 1987 to 1988, before his appointment as Air Guard director in the nation’s capital.
“For those of those of us who knew Phil, we lost a GREAT FRIEND and a GREAT GUARDSMAN, and the Air Force lost a GREAT officer,” said retired Maj. Gen. Donald W. Shepperd in an email.
Shepperd, a fellow Vietnam War fighter pilot, served as Killey’s deputy and succeeded him as Air Guard director in 1988.
“Meanwhile, God now has a GREAT Pilot at His disposal,” Shepperd added. “As Phil would say, ‘a Win-Win for all.’”
During Killey’s time as Air Guard director, Guard fighter, tanker and airlift units, along with ground outfits, helped Coalition forces oust Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi forces from Kuwait.
Active-duty commanders reported that Guard units arrived for Desert Storm 1991 “ready to go” and operated without “hiccups,” leading to the modern reliance on the Air Guard for real-world combat operations.
After serving atop the Air Guard, Killey became the first Guardsman to command 1st Air Force, Air Combat Command/Continental United States North American Aerospace Defense Command Region at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, from 1994 to 1998.
He completed his nearly 40-year military career with a second term as the adjutant general of South Dakota from 1998 to 2003.
Killey was a consultant on government, military and homeland security issues following his retirement from the military.
He was also active in business, including a position on the advisory board of Previstar Inc., which provides software products and capabilities to the emergency preparedness and response communities.
In 2009, 1st Air Force/Continental NORAD Region named its new headquarters building the Killey Center for Homeland Operations. The command now includes Air Forces Northern and Air Forces Space.
Killey talked about the appeal of military life in an interview that year with a newspaper from his hometown, the Monmouth, Illinois, Daily Review Atlas.
“We literally depended on a bond of trust. …We learned to be honest and forthright,” he said. “It was an opportunity to protect the Constitution, and I still feel a pride in that which hasn’t diminished today.”
Also in 2009, the now-114th Fighter Wing dedicated its operations building (above) at Joe Foss Field in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in Killey’s name.
Still connected in his heart to defending the nation, he returned to Tyndall Air Force Base in December 2022 to see for himself the results of the 1st Air Force’s transition to a homeland air defense mission he began as commander.
“The mission has changed and grown exponentially — but it’s still the No. 1 mission of our military, and of our country — defending the homeland,” he said in a video.
Killey is survived by his loving wife Ellen, their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Funeral services are scheduled for 10 a.m. Feb. 5 in the Grace Chapel at Scottsdale Bible Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, according to Shepperd.
A veterans-motorcade motorcycle escort with flags will accompany him from the church to Hansen Desert Hills Cemetery in Scottsdale for interment at noon.
— By John Goheen
