Retired Gen. McClendon is charged with sexually assaulting a child arrested in Sulfur Springs

May 12, 2024 – A routine traffic stop by a Hopkins County sheriff’s deputy produced a person of interest in an ongoing investigation into sexual assault of a minor. It was discovered that retired Air Force Brigadier General Mike Houston McClendon was named as a person of interest in a sexual assault investigation. McClendon cooperated with authorities during and after the traffic stop by driving to the local sheriff’s office and being interviewed by authorities. McClendon was subsequently arrested on a warrant and booked into the Hopkins County Jail on a charge of persistent sexual assault of a young child, a first-degree felony. Bail for the decorated brigadier general was set at $100,000.

The following information is from McClendon’s Air Force Biography page: General McClendon is a 1975 graduate of the US Air Force Academy. He first flew the A-7D fighter in Tactical Air Command and was subsequently part of the first cadre to introduce the A-10 to US Air Forces in Europe. From USAFE, General McClendon attended the Air Force’s Experimental Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, California, and served as Air Force Chief A-10 Test Pilot and Director of Flight Test. He also served as deputy program manager for a top-secret special program. This was followed by successive tours in Air Force research and development and senior leadership positions in the F-22 System Program Office, the Directorate of Operations at the Air Force Materiel Command Headquarters, the Air Force Research Laboratory and the former AFC2ISR Center. General McClendon is a senior pilot with more than 10,000 hours of experience in more than 35 types of aircraft, from helicopters to fighter jets to transport aircraft. As a civilian, he is a captain for a major airline and flies internationally.

Brigadier General Mike H. McClendon is the recipient of several military awards, including a Distinquished Service Medal and a Legion of Merit award.

McClendon’s Air Force biography can be viewed here: McClendon Air Force Biography Page.