Gen. John D. Lamontagne took over Sept. 9 as the top officer at Air Mobility Command, promising to continue the organization’s sweeping preparations for the prospect of war in the Pacific that have picked up speed in recent years.
The change of command brings the newly minted four-star from his front-row seat to NATO’s efforts to keep the war in Ukraine from spilling across Europe to Scott Air Force Base, Ill., where Lamontagne will lead nearly 107,000 troops and civilians who conduct daily transport and aerial refueling missions around the globe.
In a speech at the change of command ceremony, Lamontagne likened the current tactical hurdles Airmen face to the challenges their predecessors navigated in World War II. Troops of wars past secured battlefield victories even with limited resources under difficult circumstances, he said, and so will today’s Air Force.
“We fight tonight and win tonight with what we have tonight,” Lamontagne said. “We will also have an eye to the future so that our successors will also guarantee … the ability to project power anywhere around the world, in the face of any adversary, at the time and place of our choosing.”
As AMC commander, Lamontagne will have to juggle the operational demands of the U.S. military’s response to conflicts and humanitarian crises worldwide, training and acquisition initiatives to prepare for the future, and the health and well-being of his troops and their families.
The past 12 months alone have seen air mobility units airdrop aid to Gaza, conduct humanitarian aid and security missions in Haiti, and support the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Chad and Niger—plus longer-term initiatives to redefine how Air Force squadrons deploy and vie with China and Russia for military dominance.
Lamontagne is a decorated airlift pilot who previously served as the deputy commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa and held several other command roles across the mobility enterprise and on the Joint Staff. Military leaders at the ceremony said that resume has prepared the general to continue building a flexible, fast-moving command that can ferry troops and equipment anywhere on Earth.
“We’ve got a lot more work to do,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin said. “Gen. Lamontagne’s going to take us there.”
Lamontagne replaces Gen. Mike Minihan, who is retiring after more than three decades in uniform. “Mini,” a career C-130 Hercules airlift pilot known for his booming voice and small kindnesses to troops and their families, has served as AMC boss since October 2021.
Over the past three years, Minihan has urged Airmen to connect with a mission bigger than themselves as the Air Force looks to the Pacific. He has ordered units to ensure they can perform in the vast Pacific, emphasized the importance of mental health, and encouraged troops to bend tactical rules to push missions farther and faster than in decades past. He’s also brought on the troubled KC-46 Pegasus tanker while exploring future aircraft that could blur the lines between traditional airlifters and tankers.
“I stand here reluctant and defiant that this is my last act of uniformed service,” he said, “reluctant that the best job and also the longest job that I’ve ever had terminates in just a few moments; defiant that I’ve been judged excess.”
“The greatest gift warriors can give to one another is the gift of respect,” he said. “You have mine, always.”
Minihan is an “Airman’s Airman” who led the command with a steady hand during turbulent times, said his predecessor, U.S. Transportation Command boss Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost.
“He brought a passion that he wore on his sleeve … which empowered others to do the same,” Allvin added. “He had a passion for the mission, and a drive and a personality that was infectious and led people to want to follow.”
The service chief pledged to continue Minihan’s push for more realistic training that illuminates where the Air Force is ready for war—and where it still falls short.
“You can’t win the fight if you can’t get there, and you can’t sustain the fight,” Allvin said. “The joint force is waking up to this. … That’s something that will be a hallmark of Gen. Mike Minihan and [his wife] Ashley’s time here.”