The Air Force has named Richard Lombardi the interim assistant secretary for acquisition, temporarily replacing William LaPlante, who resigned his post last month to take up a senior position at the MITRE Corp., Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said Dec. 2. Lombardi served as the principal deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, where he was the senior civilian assistant to LaPlante. Lombardi served in the Air Force in acquisition management positions and retired as a colonel in July 2004. James said the Air Force will work through its “process” to find a permanent acquisition chief, but ultimately it will be the White House’s decision to hire LaPlante’s replacement.
The Air Force is on track to reach its annual goal of graduating 1,500 new pilots that had proved elusive to this point, one year after the service launched a sweeping overhaul of its undergraduate pilot training program, Air Education and Training Command said Sept. 14.
