Lt. Gen. David W. Allvin is on deck to become the Air Force’s next vice chief of staff, the Pentagon announced Aug. 14.
President Donald J. Trump nominated Allvin to succeed Gen. Stephen W. “Seve” Wilson, who has been the Air Force’s second-highest officer since July 2016. Wilson is the longest-serving vice chief in the service’s history, according to the Air Force.
If confirmed by the Senate, Allvin would receive a promotion to four-star general.
Allvin has served as the Joint Staff’s strategy, plans, and policy director since January 2019. He is also a senior member of the United States delegation to the United Nations Military Staff Committee. His extensive experience in joint assignments, including about six of the last 10 years, indicates the Air Force will continue to grow its offerings and influence in the Joint Force. That push was a top priority of recently retired Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein.
“He provides strategic direction, policy guidance, and planning focus to develop and execute the National Military Strategy,” according to Allvin’s biography. “He enables the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to provide military advice to the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council.”
The decorated career pilot logged more than 4,600 hours in the C-12F, C-141A/B, KC-135R/T, C-17, C-130, C-130J, C-23, F-15, F-16, and T-38. He oversaw strategy and policy at U.S. European Command in Germany, held various leadership positions for NATO in Afghanistan as well as in the tanker and training communities, and was a C-17 and C-130J test pilot.
The Air Force has not said whether Wilson is retiring. During his time as vice chief, he helped build out the service’s ecosystem of innovation-focused groups and competitions, played a key role in developing the secretive new B-21 bomber, and drove mental health initiatives like the “True North” program, which will grow to 16 bases by the end of 2021.
“Our Air Force is smarter, more innovative, and agile because of him,” Goldfein said in a July 27 release. “I rely on him every day and I know he’s made me a better Chief.”
Also on Aug. 14, the Pentagon announced Maj. Gen. Jim Dawkins Jr. is nominated to take over as the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration, known as the A10. He would also be promoted to lieutenant general if confirmed.
Dawkins will leave his current position after a short stint as global power programs director in the Air Force’s acquisition branch, which he joined in June. Before that, he commanded Eighth Air Force and the Joint-Global Strike Operations Center at Barksdale Air Force Base, La.
He is a pilot with more than 3,000 flying hours—including more than 260 hours in combat—in the F-111, F-16CJ, RC-135, B-1, B-2, and B-52.
Lt. Gen. Richard M. Clark, the outgoing A10, is leaving to become the U.S. Air Force Academy’s first Black superintendent.