An intelligence officer whose restraint mattered at the nuclear brink
Seeing unusual Soviet nuclear readiness, he advised against raising NATO's alert level.
Leonard H. Perroots was a U.S. Air Force general and military intelligence specialist whose career intersected with the management of nuclear danger late in the Cold War. As assistant chief of staff for intelligence, U.S. Air Forces in Europe, during Able Archer 83 in 1983, he observed unusual Soviet nuclear readiness but advised against raising NATO alert levels, avoiding a potentially dangerous escalation. He later directed the Defense Intelligence Agency and left a significant retrospective account of the war scare, illustrating how intelligence judgment can shape decisions at the nuclear brink.
Career Timeline
- 1955Commissioned in the U.S. Air Force
- 1970년대Air Force command and intelligence assignments
- 1982–1984Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, U.S. Air Forces in Europe
- 1983Advised against escalating NATO alert levels during Able Archer 83
- 1984–1985Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, U.S. Air Force
- 1985–1988Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency
- 1989Retired from the U.S. Air Force
- 2017Died