According to a report in the Shreveport Times, Gen. William Fraser III, currently serving as the Vice Chief of Staff, is the likely successor to head Air Combat Command when Gen. John Corley retires this summer. Replacing Fraser in the Air Force’s No. 2 uniformed spot would be Gen. Howie Chandler, currently head of Pacific Air Forces. The formal nominations have yet to go public. Also included in the Times report was word that Maj. Gen. Gilmary Hostage III, who currently serves as Chandler’s deputy at PACAF, will get the Air Forces Central portion of the to-be-temporarily-split 9th Air Force/AFCENT. Hostage would replace Lt. Gen. Gary North as the forward commander of USAF air operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hostage’s name appeared May 20 on the Senate list awaiting confirmation. No word yet on who would follow Chandler and Hostage at PACAF.
President Donald Trump’s nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff touted his highly unusual background for the job as an asset and reaffirmed his commitment to stay apolitical during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 1.