Lt Gen Claudius E. Watts, USAF

Class of 1958

Hometown: Bennettsville, SC

Distinguished Alumnus Photo

  • Lt. General Claudius E. Watts, III, USAF Ret., served as the 17th President of The Citadel 1989-1996.   
  • Watts was commissioned in the US Air Force upon graduation from The Citadel, and attended the London School of Economics and Political Science as a Fulbright Scholar.  He earned a master's degree in business administration from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business in 1967.  
  • General Watts’ Air Force career encompassed thirty-one years.  During his military service, Watts amassed more than 7,000 flying hours and commanded various units up to wing level.  He served in Vietnam from December 1967 to December 1968, as a pilot with the 12th Special Operations Squadron at Bien Hoa and Da Nang air bases, Republic of Vietnam.  Watts held numerous and increasingly responsible staff positions, culminating as Comptroller of the United States Air Force, from which he retired September 1, 1989.  His decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters and the Air Medal with nine oak leaf clusters.