Kent Davidson earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering in 1957 and an MS in Research and Development Systems Management from the University of Southern California in 1967. He also completed additional advanced studies at the University of Michigan (1982) and at Harvard University (1987). His distinguished AF career included serving as Director of Plans at HQ USAF and as Commander, 22nd AF at Travis AFB, California, with responsibility for over 35,000 personnel, 950 aircraft, and 30 Detachments providing military airlift for the Western US and the entire Pacific Ocean Region.
At the AF Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, he served as test pilot and Operational Test Director for the Boeing YC-14 and McDonnell Douglas YC-15 Advanced Prototype transports. The latter led to the highly successful C-17 transport program. General Davidson is a Command Pilot with over 8000 flying hours in over 50 types of aircraft including the Mach 3 SR-71 Blackbird. He retired in 1993.