Lieutenant general Vaughn O. Lang initially received a football scholarship for Penn State University (PSU), where Joe Paterno was then an assistant football coach. After one year at the university he joined the Navy and returned to PSU after fulfilling his commitment to the USN. He entered the ROTC program and was commissioned in the Signal Corps. Prior to Signal Command having a four star general officer in command, LTG Lang was one of six LTG's in the US Army Signal Corps serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Mobilization Planning and Requirements, OSD in 1967. Prior to his retirement from active duty, on February 2, 1980, General Lang was the Deputy Commander of The Communications and Electronics Materiel Readiness Command (CERCOM) beginning October 11, 1978.