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Bruce “Gator” Byrum enlisted
in the Marine Corps in 1967. After being commissioned through the Enlisted
Commissioning Program in 1968, he was assigned to Undergraduate Pilot
Training at Reese Air Force Base, Texas and designated a Naval Aviator
in May 1970.
First assignment was flying the A6A Intruder with VMA(AW)-224, which
deployed to the Gulf of Tonkin aboard the carrier USS Coral Sea. He
flew 125 combat missions and in May 1972 participated in the mining
of Haiphong Harbor. In 1974, he attended the Communication Officer Course
in Quantico, Virginia and subsequently served a tour of duty as the
communications officer for Marine Aircraft Group 14 in Cherry Point,
North Carolina.
In 1976, he was selected for the Degree Completion Program and received
his B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Florida.
His next assignment was as a flight instructor in Training Squadron
Seven at Meridian, Mississippi. In July 1980, he was reassigned to Marine
Aircraft Group 14 where he served as the Logistics Officer for H&MS-14,
and then as the Admin Officer for VMA(AW)-533. In 1982, after one unit
deployment with VMA(AW)-533 to Iwakuni, Japan, he was reassigned to
Marine Corps Command and Staff College in Quantico, Virginia.
Following Command and Staff, Gator rejoined VMA(AW)-533 Hawks as their
executive officer. The squadron was assigned to CVW-14 and completed
one Mediterranean deployment aboard USS Saratoga. In 1985, he assumed
command of the squadron and completed a second Mediterranean deployment
with CVW-17 embarked on USS John F Kennedy. In 1986, he passed command
of the squadron on to his Executive Officer, LtCol James “Outlaw”
Whitlow, who led the squadron through a second Mediterranean deployment
with CVW-17 and USS John F. Kennedy.
After his squadron tours, Gator served on a number of staffs including:
Naval Striking and Support Forces, Southern Europe in Naples, Italy;
U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Atlantic in Norfolk as the Assistant Chief
of Staff G-3, and as the Chief of Staff, Fleet Marine Force, Europe
in Stuttgart, Germany. General Byrum was promoted on August 1, 1994
and was first assigned as the Deputy Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces,
Atlantic, then served as the Deputy Commanding General, III Marine Expeditionary
Force, and subsequently as Commanding General, Third Force Service Support
Group, Okinawa, Japan. His last assignment was as the Assistant Deputy
Chief of Staff for Aviation at Headquarters Marine Corps.
Gator currently works for Science
Applications International Corporation (SAIC) in McLean, Virginia and
supports the Department of the Navy.
He has flown the A6A, A6B, A6E and KA6D and has accumulated 600 carrier landings in three squadron air wing tours. Personal decorations include: Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, Single Mission Air Medal, Strike/Flight Air Medal with numeral "7", Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V" with Gold Star, and Navy Achievement Medal.