Atomic. Missile. Space. Birthplace of American Ages.
White Sands Commanders
White Sands Proving Ground/White Sands Missile Range has had 35 Commanders since its activation on 09 July 1945. These Commanders are listed below in chronological order. Click on the photo to view their biography.
COL Harold Turner 1st White Sands Proving Ground Commander 09 July 1945 – 03 August 1947
BG Philip Blackmore 2nd White Sands Proving Ground Commander 04 August 1947 – 31 January 1950
BG George Eddy 3rd White Sands Proving Ground Commander 12 January 1950 – 14 June 1954
MG William Bell 4th White Sands Proving Ground Commander 01 August 1954 – 31 January 1956
MG Waldo Laidlaw 5th White Sands Missile Range Commander 01 February 1956 – 30 June 1960
MG John Shinkle 6th White Sands Missile Range Commander 01 July 1960 – 11 June 1962
MG Frederick Thorlin 7th White Sands Missile Range Commander 09 July 1962 – 31 July 1965
MG John Cone 8th White Sands Missile Range Commander 01 August 1965 – 30 March 1966
MG Horace Davisson 9th White Sands Missile Range Commander 12 October 1966 – 31 March 1970
MG Edward deSaussure 10th White Sands Missile Range Commander 08 April 1970 – 31 May 1972
MG Arthur Sweeny 11th White Sands Missile Range Commander 01 June 1972 – 21 July 1974
MG Robert Proudfoot 12th White Sands Missile Range Commander 29 July 1974 – 31 July 1975
MG Orville Tobiason 13th White Sands Missile Range Commander 09 September 1975 – 28 February 1979
MG Duard Ball 14th White Sands Missile Range Commander 19 March 1979 – 22 July 1980
MG Alan Nord 15th White Sands Missile Range Commander 22 July 1980 – 24 September 1982
MG Niles Fulwyler 16th White Sands Missile Range Commander 24 September 1982 – 04 June 1986
MG Joe Owens 17th White Sands Missile Range Commander 04 June 1986 – 16 October 1987
MG Thomas Jones 18th White Sands Missile Range Commander 16 October 1987 – 10 August 1990
BG Ronald Hite 19th White Sands Missile Range Commander 10 August 1990 – 11 July 1991
BG Richard Wharton 20th White Sands Missile Range Commander 11 July 1991 – 24 June 1994
BG Jerry Laws 21st White Sands Missile Range Commander 24 June 1994 – 13 April 1998
BG Harry Gatanas 22nd White Sands Missile Range Commander 13 April 1998 – 16 November 1999
BG Steven Flohr 23rd White Sands Missile Range Commander 16 November 1999 – 22 October 2001
BG William Engel 24th White Sands Missile Range Commander 22 October 2001 – 02 May 2003
COL Lawrence Sowa 25th White Sands Missile Range Commander 02 May 2003 – 17 July 2003
BG Robert Reese 26th White Sands Missile Range Commander 17 July 2003 – 30 November 2005
Thomas R. Berard 1st White Sands Missile Range Director 30 November 2005 – 05 October 2007
BG Richard McCabe 27th White Sands Missile Range Commander 05 October 2007 – 03 October 2008
BG David Mann 28th White Sands Missile Range Commander 03 October 2008 – 24 August 2009
BG John Regan 29th White Sands Missile Range Commander 24 August 2009 – 19 July 2011
BG John Ferrari 30th White Sands Missile Range Commander 18 August 2011 – 16 August 2012
MG Gwen Bingham 31st White Sands Missile Range Commande 12 September 2012 – 06 June 2014
BG Timothy Coffin 32nd White Sands Missile Range Commander 02 July 2014 – 25 August 2016
BG Eric Sanchez 33rd White Sands Missile Range Commander 27 August 2016 – 16 July 2018
BG Gregory Brady 34th White Sands Missile Range Commander 17 July 2018 – 16 July 2019
BG David Trybula 35th White Sands Missile Range Commander 17 July 2019 – 20 May 2021
BG Eric Little 36th White Sands Missile Range Commander 20 May 2021 – Present