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ALFRED DODD STARBIRD
1912-1983
BY JOHN S
. FOSTER
ALFRED DODD STARBIRD retired army lieutenant general
and authority on nuclear weaponry and military communi-
cations systems, cried of cancer on July 28, 1983. Throughout
his career of public service, which spanned nearly fifty years,
Docicl Starbird exemplified the ideal of a leader with his
highly developer! management and leadership skills and his
devotion to duty.
Dodd Starbird's achievements as an athlete, soldier, engi-
neer, and government adviser are well documentecI. Yet, it is
his expertise as a manager, a skill often overIookec] in stan-
clard biographies, that ctistinguishe(1 him from many other
military and civilian leaders. He was in many respects the
ultimate manager one who possessed the ability to organize
and control the most complex projects and, equally impor-
tant, to elicit the best from those who worked with him.
His leaclership skills were forged at the U.S. Military Acad-
emy at West Point. Upon graduation from West Point in
1933, Dodd Starbird was commissioned as a second lieuten-
ant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In 1937 he re-
ceived an M.S. in civil engineering from Princeton Univer-
sity. This engineering background enabled him to analyze
difficult situations and to formulate carefully considered so-
lutions. Similarly, his prowess as an athlete—he was a mem-
ber of the U.S. pentathlon team that won a gold medal in the
317
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318
MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
1936 Olympic games afforded him the stamina he would
need cluring long, grueling hours spent on critical national
security projects.
During World War Il. Dodd Starbird proved to be an able
combat officer. He server! on temporary cluty with the First
Division Staff of the U.S. Army during its landings in North
Africa and with the Fifth Corps during its landings ancI early
operations in Normandy. He commandecI a Third Army en-
gineer combat group from January through June 1945, and
then returned to the War Department General Staff.
It was cluring the postwar years, however, that Dodc! Star-
birct's managerial skills were expanded. In 1949, for ex-
ample, he playecI a key role in Sandstone, the first technically
significant nuclear test at Eniwetok Atoll. After various as-
signments in the Pacific and Europe and two years in the
Office of the Chief of Engineers, General Starbird was
named (Erector of military applications of the Atomic En-
ergy Commission, a position he held from 1955 to 1961. His
leaclership helpect accelerate atomic weapons development,
which then introclucecl a new American nuclear deterrent
capability.
Those who worked with Dodc! Starbird in his various roles
during the 1950s characterized him as a careful, precise per-
son who worked extremely hard to unclerstand all aspects of
a problem. Said one former colleague: "He was a great man-
ager because he not only understood what the scientific anct
technical people were trying to do, but he also thought up
practical ways to help."
Under Dodd Starbir(l's supervision, outstanding progress
was made in transferring nuclear fission and fusion ~level-
opment from research to military applications. Yet of equal
importance was his work in developing Atomic Energy Com-
mission positions on U.S. disarmament proposals to control
nuclear weaponry.
Dodd Starbircl's effectiveness was reflected in the way he
went about his job. He examined each problem in painstak-
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ALFRED DODD STARBIRD
319
ing cletail, with the result that he understood all of the key
issues thoroughly before making a decision. This macle it
possible for program managers to clo their jobs with the ut-
most effectiveness. A strong "people" manager, the general
took a personal interest in those who worked for him anc!
strove to gain their unclerstancting and support for the task
at hand. He was neither overly critical nor clict he engage in
second-guessing. InsteacI, he secured sufficient information
to provide constructive solutions for even the most highly
· . .
sensltlve projects.
Above all, Doubt Starbirc! was a tireless worker. With a
spirit of equanimity and good humor, he developed massive
advisory reports on many complex technical and political is-
sues, most of which were requested on extremely short no-
tice. Moreover, despite his total cleclication to national secu-
rity, he still found time to go skiing with his wife, Evelyn
Wallington Starbirct, and their three children, as well as to
pursue one of his favorite pastimes, long-clistance running.
In 1961 the general was placed in command of the U.S.
Army North Pacific Division supervising a large construction
project in Portland, Oregon. In the fall of that year, the So-
viets resumed nuclear atmospheric testing, and the Depart-
ment of Defense called on General Starbird to leave his po-
sition at the North Pacific Division to plan, mobilize, and
command the Joint Task Force Eight for Operation Dominic,
the final nuclear tests in the Pacific.
He accepted without hesitation and accomplished the nec-
essary preparations in an unprecedentedly short time to en-
sure that the 1962 atmospheric testing program was success-
ful. The task force's work hac! barely ended in 1962 when
Docld Starbircl was appointed director of the Defense Com-
munications Agency, which oversaw all of the command-and-
contro} operations for the Department of Defense.
During the Vietnam War, General Starbird served as direc-
tor of the Defense Communications Planning Group, a cover
name for the organization that pioneered the development
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MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
and deployment of the "McNamara Barrier" program. This
program used aerial and unattended grounct sensors to de-
tect Viet Cong troop movements and systems to contend with
the targets identified.
In 1967 General Starbird became manager of the Sentinel
(later Safeguard) antiballistic missile (ABM) system, a posi-
tion he held until his retirement in 1971. Under his leader-
ship, this system was successfully tested at Vandenberg Air
Force Base in California by the firing of intercontinental bal-
listic missiles that were located at radar/missile installations
on Kwajalein Island in the Pacific. The system was being de-
ployed in the United States to protect U.S. Minuteman mis-
sile fields near Grand Forks, North Dakota. Following the
ABM treaty in 1972, however, the United States terminated
all deployment of its ballistic missile defense system.
Although Dodd Starbird's thirty-eight years of commis-
sioned military service ended in 1971, his service to the
United States continued. He was named clirector of the
newly creates! Department of Defense Office of Test and
Evaluation, and in 1975 President Forc] appointed him as-
sistant administrator for national security in the Energy Re-
search ant] Development Administration. When this organi-
zation was integrated into the new Department of Energy in
1977, President Carter named him acting assistant secretary
for defense programs.
In 1980 Dodd Starbird finally retired from government
service, forty-seven years after pinning on his second lieuten-
ant's bars. Any one of the many positions he held during his
last two decades in public life wouIct have been a fitting cap-
stone to a brilliant career. Yet to a man so dedicated to public
service, each assignment represented another opportunity to
serve his country.
As one of the U.S. Army's most outstanding engineers,
General Starbird received many honors, including four Dis-
tinguished Service Medals, two Legion of Merit Awards, two
Bronze Stars, commendations from the Atomic Energy
Commission, and election to the National Academy of Engi-
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ALFRED DODD STARBIRD
321
peering in 1973. But perhaps his greatest achievement was
earning the respect of his military ant! civilian colleagues and
subordinates.
Alfrecl Dotld Starbird general, engineer, manager, and
leader was one of the finest citizens America has proclucecl.
As the West Point Society said when presenting him with the
prestigious Ben Castle Award for outstanding service to his
country, "He was a man for all seasons, and for all tasks."
Representative terms from entire chapter:
alfred dodd
