The summer season season of navy musical chairs is underway as a number of high-ranking Air Drive officers take new jobs or head into retirement.
Gen. Anthony Cotton, who manages the Air Drive’s nuclear weapons and bombers as commander of Air Drive World Strike Command, was nominated June 7 to guide the Pentagon’s nuclear enterprise at U.S. Strategic Command.
Cotton is a profession nuclear missileer and oversaw the intercontinental ballistic missile power at twentieth Air Drive earlier than turning into World Strike’s deputy commander in October 2019. He rose to the command’s prime job in August amid efforts to modernize the service’s nuclear arsenal, construct a brand new stealth bomber and chart out the retirement of two others.
If confirmed by the Senate, he would change into the second Black service member to run STRATCOM and the second individual of colour among the many present slate of combatant commanders. He’ll change Adm. Charles Richard, who took the job in November 2019.
The Air Drive has not introduced who’s subsequent in line to exchange Cotton at World Strike.
He’s one among two latest picks to guide a combatant command, which break up up duty for each day operations in areas world wide in addition to for specialised missions like cyber and house warfare.
The opposite, Army Lt. Gen. Bryan Fenton, was tapped to guide U.S. Particular Operations Command and for a promotion to four-star basic, the Pentagon introduced Monday. He’s now on the helm of Joint Particular Operations Command.
Some protection watchers had speculated Lt. Gen. Jim Slife, the three-star answerable for Air Drive Particular Operations Command, would take excessive particular ops job after a earlier stint as SOCOM’s vice commander. As a substitute, it seems he’ll dangle up his uniform after greater than 32 years; the Air Drive stated SOCOM Vice Commander Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind is on deck to exchange Slife.
Slife’s departure comes after criticism that the Air Drive unfairly performed favorites with an officer who might change into the primary feminine airman to interrupt into the elite particular techniques area. He has denied any wrongdoing.
“I’m anxious to seek out out whether or not I’m going to change into a shepherd on my farm or whether or not I’m going to a different job,” the particular ops pilot instructed Air Drive Instances in March when requested about his future plans.
Bauernfeind commissioned into the Air Drive in 1991 upon graduating from the U.S. Air Drive Academy in Colorado. He piloted the MC-130 particular operations airlift and commanded two particular operations wings. He has additionally held the No. 2 job at SOCOM since August 2020.
And amid Europe’s most tenuous safety state of affairs in a long time, Gen. Tod Wolters will retire as U.S. European Command boss and NATO’s supreme allied commander. Wolters commissioned into the Air Drive in 1982. One other fighter pilot who has hopscotched into positions world wide, he took over at EUCOM in Could 2019.
His departure comes as Russia’s assault on Ukraine continues into its fourth month, spurring a large effort to arm Ukrainian troops in addition to new requests from nations to hitch NATO.
Gen. Christopher Cavoli, head of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, was nominated to exchange Wolters.
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Different resume updates embody:
- Maj. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich will take over at Air Forces Central Command’s headquarters in South Carolina. The profession fighter pilot has served as U.S. Central Command’s operations director since June 2020.
- Lt. Gen. James Hecker is slated to depart Air College at Maxwell Air Drive Base, Alabama, to imagine command of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa. He joined the college as president in November 2019.
- Lt. Gen. Brad Webb is retiring as commander of Air Training and Coaching Command after 38 years of navy service. He handed the reins to Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson, previously the No. 2 officer at Air Mobility Command and a profession airlift pilot.
- Gen. Arnold Bunch retired Monday after three years as Air Drive Materiel Command’s prime officer and virtually 40 years within the service. Gen. Duke Richardson, the previous navy deputy for acquisition at Air Drive headquarters, took over the put up.
Rachel Cohen joined Air Drive Instances as senior reporter in March 2021. Her work has appeared in Air Drive Journal, Inside Protection, Inside Well being Coverage, the Frederick News-Put up (Md.), the Washington Put up, and others.
