Leonard H. Perroots

Leonard H. Perroots
Lieutenant General Leonard H. Perroots
Birth nameLeonard Harry Perroots
Nickname(s)Lenny
Born(1933-04-24)April 24, 1933
Morgantown, West Virginia, U.S.
DiedJanuary 29, 2017(2017-01-29) (aged 83)
Lake Ridge, Virginia, U.S.
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service / branchUnited States Air Force
Years of service1955–1989
RankLieutenant General
CommandsDirector, Defense Intelligence Agency

Leonard Harry Perroots, Sr., USAF (April 24, 1933 – January 29, 2017) was Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency from October 1985 to December 1988.[1][2] He retired January 1, 1989. In 1989, he was hired by Donald Mayes to become president of Vector Microwave Research Corporation, an enterprise performing tasks and dealings for the CIA and the U.S. military.[3] While serving as assistant chief of staff for the U.S. Air Forces in Europe, he is credited with helping to avert a nuclear war with the Soviet Union during the Able Archer 83 war scare.[4] Perroots died on January 29, 2017, at the age of 83 following a short illness.[5][6]

  1. ^ United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs (1994). Oversight Hearings: Department of Defense, POW/MIA Family Issues, and Private Sector Issues : Hearings Before the Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Second Congress, Second Session, December 1-4, 1992. U.S. Government Printing Office. ISBN 9780160433931.
  2. ^ "Biographies: Lieutenant General Leonard H. Perroots". United States Air Force. Archived from the original on 10 March 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  3. ^ Mintz, John (December 30, 1998). "U.S. Probes Company's Covert Operations". Washington Post. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  4. ^ "The 1983 War Scare Declassified and For Real". National Security Archive. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  5. ^ Sam Roberts (February 10, 2017). "Leonard Perroots, General Who Defused Nuclear Crisis With Soviets, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  6. ^ "DIA announces death of former director, Lieutenant General Leonard H. Perroots, USAF (Retired)". Defense Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 30 January 2017.