Pick to Lead DOD Acquisition Withdraws His Nomination

July 14, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

Michael Brown, the Pentagon’s nominee to lead Defense Department acquisition, has withdrawn his nomination, citing ongoing scrutiny for allegedly circumventing hiring regulations while leading the Defense Innovation Unit.

Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby said July 14 that Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III received a letter from Brown “expressing his desire” to withdraw from the nomination process. Brown raised concerns about a lengthy investigation and a desire not to slow down the nomination process, Kirby said.

Brown has led the Defense Innovation Unit since 2018, and when asked if he would still lead that unit, Kirby said he did not have personnel changes to announce.

President Joe Biden nominated Brown for the role in early April. Later that month, Defense One reported that Brown allegedly circumvented hiring regulations, with some employees having received special treatment. This allegedly included the DIU writing job descriptions specifically to eliminate other applicants.

The Defense Innovation Unit, established in 2015, is the Pentagon’s direct line to Silicon Valley and other technology hubs for outreach between the Defense Department and tech industry.

The news of Brown withdrawing was first reported by Inside Defense.

More than 40 F-35s Without Engines, Air Force Leaders Say

July 14, 2021 | By Greg Hadley

More than 40 F-35s across the U.S. Air Force are currently without engines according to the most recent data, top officials told Congress on July 13.

Speaking before the House Armed Services subcommittee on tactical air and land forces, acting Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Darlene Costello said 41 of the fifth-generation fighters don’t have an engine due to maintenance issues, while 56 F135 power modules are currently being repaired at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. There are 272 F-35A jets in the Air Force’s inventory, meaning nearly 15 percent are without an engine.

Lt. Gen. Eric T. Fick, F-35 program executive officer, confirmed Costello’s numbers while noting that the exact number can be calculated in different ways.

Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), however, expressed discomfort about providing funds to buy more F-35s while a significant number of jets are already in the service in need of engines.

“The idea of rolling [out] a new aircraft with an engine while others are sitting—and I’m hearing the numbers and we can argue over which ones they are—but [that is] certainly something that is a real concern,” Norcross said.

Norcross was just one of several representatives to voice concerns about the F-35 program during the July 13 hearing, with others hitting on familiar topics of high sustainment costs and delayed production while discussing the 2022 budget request for fixed-wing tactical and training aircraft programs.

Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) cited a Government Accountability Office finding that fewer than four percent of F-35 engines have been delivered on time, asking if the military was looking at alternative engine options to keep sustainment and operation costs down.

“Engine costs in sustainment are challenging,” Fick acknowledged, while also noting that no F-35 delivery has been delayed because of an engine. “And as we rapidly approach the 2,000-hour first scheduled engine removal, we will start to bear those costs in the sustainment of the air system. And we also know that we have begun to reach a flat or a flatter spot in the learning curve relative to the overall cost of production engines.

“When I couple that with the notion that post-the current Block 4 content, we will likely need increased power and increased thermal management capability from our propulsion system, I think that the need to look for options from a propulsion system perspective is present.”

In the meantime, Fick said, the joint program office is taking a three-pronged approach to close the engine gap, working to shorten repair time at Tinker, stand up repair operations at other facilities, and keep engines in planes longer.

For engine power modules in particular, Fick said, the program office now anticipates supply meeting demand by 2024, with the backlog being cleared by 2029.

The Block 4 upgrade, which the Air Force has said is key to ensuring the F-35 can win a peer fight, also came under scrutiny. Jon Ludwigson, director of contracting and national security acquisitions for the GAO, reiterated concerns from his office that the timelines attached to full production capability and the Block 4 have been too optimistic, setting up the program to miss deadlines. That, combined with supply chain issues and sustainment costs, “raise questions about how many aircraft can realistically be produced on time in the near term while supporting fielded aircraft,” Ludwigson testified.

Without Block 4, though, the Air Force decided not to add any F-35s to its 2022 unfunded priorities list, said Lt. Gen. David S. Nahom, deputy chief of staff for plans and programs. For every F-35 the service buys before the Block 4 upgrade, he said there will be a cost to retrofit with the new capabilities. And in certain cases, Ludwigson added, those retrofits could happen before the aircraft are even delivered to the Defense Department in the first place.

The question of just how many F-35s the Air Force will order in the near future remains open ended; Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. has said the results of an ongoing tactical aviation study will determine if the service will surge its production of the jet. On July 13, Nahom told the subcommittee that he expects that study to be completed by the end of the summer.

USAF Defends C-130 Cuts as Service Looks to Future of Tactical Airlift

July 14, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

The Air Force faces an uphill fight with its plans to cut five units worth of C-130s, largely from the Guard and Reserve. The service, however, says the tactical airlift fleet can afford to absorb some risk and that there could be future lift possibilities outside of the venerable Hercules.

USAF wants to cut 55 C-130 tails, down to a fleet size of 255. Lt. Gen. David S. Nahom, the deputy chief of staff for plans and programs, said that number “covers what we need for our tactical airlift fleet and includes support to the homeland.”

Nahom, speaking during a July 14 AFA Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event, said the Air Force is “taking into account all the missions that our C-130 crews do every day.” But both Congress and the National Guard have questioned recently whether that is true. National Guard Bureau chief Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson told the House Appropriations defense subcommittee in May that he needs the Guard to “retain every single one of those flying squadrons because of what they bring for our nation.” Plans, such as the Mobility Capabilities Requirements Study, do not take into account what C-130s do at home, he said.

Lawmakers have largely agreed. The same House panel on July 13 passed its version of the fiscal 2022 Defense funding bill, which includes four more C-130s than what was requested in the Pentagon’s proposal.

Nahom said the Air Force is working closely with the Guard and Reserve to find ”mutually agreeable replacement missions, and we’ve been successful in some places.”

For example, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., has been selected to host the Air Force’s MH-139 Grey Wolf formal training unit. This mission would replace the Reserve’s 908th Airlift Wing and its aging C-130Hs.

“There’s ways we can do this, and in a very positive way with the Guard and Reserve, and we’re certainly going down that road,” Nahom said.

Additionally, airlift capacity and capability is in a relatively safe position, compared to other missions, such as combat aircraft. This means the Air Force can more safely remove some capacity and resources from tactical airlift and shift it to areas that need more funding and personnel.

Going forward, the Air Force is also looking at new ways to meet tactical airlift needs.

“When you say tactical lift, everyone goes straight to the C-130,” he said. “I’m looking at some future tactical lift. There’s some technologies out there right now that I think we need to stick our nose in and keep an eye on. Because when you look at logistics under attack and how we’re going to move things in a modern battlefield, it may not be in a Herk.”

This could include AFWERX’s “Agility Prime” effort to create a “flying car” for both commercial industry and the military. The Air Force is watching the Army’s Future Vertical Lift program, which is developing a next-generation helicopter for that service. And, the Air Force is talking with industry about some other capabilities that could provide lift in areas with smaller runways, or no runway at all, he said.

Lt. Gen. David Nahom, the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for plans and programs, speaks with retired Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, dean of AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies even on July 14.

Biden Nominates First Commander for Space Systems Command, New Boss at AMC

July 14, 2021 | By Amy Hudson

President Joe Biden has nominated new commanders for the Air Force’s Air Mobility Command and the Space Force’s Space Systems Command.

Lt. Gen. Mike Minihan has been tapped for a fourth star and to replace Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost as head of AMC. Minihan currently serves as the deputy commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command at Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii. He is a command pilot with more than 3,400 flying hours in the C-130, KC-10, and C-32.

“He has commanded in garrison, crisis, and combat and at the squadron, wing, and task-force levels,” according to his bio. “He also held staff assignments at Headquarters Air Force, U.S. Transportation Command, and Pacific Air Forces. Most recently, Lt. Gen. Minihan served as Chief of Staff for United Nations Command, U.S. Forces Korea, and then U.S. Indo Pacific Command.”

Biden nominated Van Ovost to lead U.S. Transportation Command in early March. Her nomination has been pending Senate approval since then, but the Senate Armed Services Committee has yet to schedule a confirmation hearing. Van Ovost is the U.S. military’s only female four-star general, and if confirmed she will become just the second woman ever to lead a combatant command, following retired USAF Gen. Lori J. Robinson, who led U.S. Northern Command from May 2016 to May 2018.

Biden also nominated Maj. Gen. Michael A. Guetlein to receive a third star and for assignment as commander of Space Systems Command at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. Guetlein, who currently serves as deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office, would be the first commander of the Space Force field command, which will be tasked with overseeing the new service’s acquisition and launch services.

Space Systems Command is expected to officially stand up this summer. The Space and Missile Systems Center will be redesignated as the SSC headquarters. Launch operations at Patrick Space Force Base, Fla., and Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., also will be realigned under SSC, as well other Air Force units once the command stands up, the department has said. Lt. Gen. John F. Thompson, who currently leads SMC, will retire, according a July 1 senior leader announcement.

Biden also nominated the following for lieutenant general and for new assignments:

Lt. Gen. Kevin B. Schneider, commander of U.S. Forces Japan and commander of 5th Air Force at Yokota Air Base, Japan, has been nominated to serve as director of staff at Headquarters Air Force at the Pentagon.
Maj. Gen. James A. Jacobson, Air Force director of training and readiness for the deputy chief of staff for operations, has been nominated to serve as deputy commander of Pacific Air Forces at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
Maj. Gen. Tom D. Miller, director of logistics, engineering, and force protection for Air Combat Command, has been nominated to serve as commander of the Air Force Sustainment Center at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.
Maj. Gen. Mark E. Weatherington, commander of 8th Air Force and commander of the Joint-Global Strike Operations Center, has been nominated to serve as deputy commander of Air Force Global Strike Command at Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

DOD’s Artificial Intelligence Efforts Gain Momentum as US, Allies, and Partners Look to Counter China

July 13, 2021 | By Amy Hudson

The Defense Department’s push to operationalize artificial intelligence, which leaders say will change the way the military conducts war but not the laws of war, is gaining momentum.

More than 600 AI efforts are in progress across the department, “significantly more than just a year ago,” Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III told a live audience at The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence’s Global Emerging Technology Summit in Washington, D.C., on July 13. AI is “one of the top technology priorities” in the department’s $112 billion research, development, test, and evaluation budget request for 2021—the largest RDT&E request ever, he added.

“In today’s department, innovation cannot be an afterthought. It is the ballgame,” Austin said. “As President Biden has noted, we’re going to see more technological change in the next 10 years than we saw in the last 50. And we know that some of our competitors think that they see an opening, but we’re determined … to develop and dominate the products and technologies of the future.”

All the conference speakers, which included senior members of Congress and the U.S. national security team as well as leaders from India, Japan, Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, NATO, and the European Union, agreed that China is the pacing threat. China already has stated it intends to be globally dominant in AI by 2030.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, opened the full-day conference with a stark warning: “China has reared a generation of innovative technologists, and let’s not underestimate the enormous skills and talents of the Chinese people,” he said. “In many areas, we’re now seeing Chinese competitors launch both products and new technologies in advance of all Western competitors.”

Warner said China is expanding its global influence by offering other authoritarian regimes a chance to monitor dissidents.

“China, I believe, is hoping to control the next generation of technological innovation and digital infrastructure and hopes to impose its values on those developments,” Warner said. “All of this again, I think, puts into question principles of transparency, accountability, sovereignty, [and] free, fair, and reciprocal relations.”

That’s why the Defense Department is focused on responsible artificial intelligence, which Austin said is the culmination of “cutting-edge technology” and “timeless values.” He emphasized that the U.S. will not choose between the two.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan agreed, saying the U.S. and its allies and partners need to “muster the will, the energy, and the resources to alter the course of the digital revolution.”

He outlined three waves to this revolution. The first was based on the premise that technology would favor democracy and human rights, while the second was the authoritarian counter to that revolution.

“So, the question before us today is whether we have the will and determination to usher in that third wave of this digital revolution—whether we can reboot and ensure that critical and emerging technologies work for, not against, our democracies and our security,” Sullivan said. “I believe that third wave is within our reach, if across party lines, across the public and private sectors, and across borders to allies and partners, we invest in our enduring advantages, we promote our shared values, we protect our technological ecosystem, and we mobilize and organize the rules of the road for the 21st century with our partners and allies.”

Austin said the Defense Department is “working with other like-minded friends to advance global norms grounded in our shared values,” noting DOD leaders meet several times a year with representatives from 15 allied and partner nations on the topic. He said he expects that number to “mushroom, going forward.”

Austin said artificial intelligence is a “transformative technology” that will require new processes, policies, and procedures. Last year, DOD adopted ethical principles for AI development and use and in June it announced the creation of the Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve, which “helps us get promising tech across the so-called ‘Valley of Death’ and into new prototypes, capabilities, and concepts,” Austin said. The Department also recently launched a new AI and data acceleration initiative aimed at harnessing data at scale and speed.

“We’re going to compete to win, but we’re going to do it the right way. We’re not going to cut corners on safety, security, or ethics … We don’t believe for a minute that we have to sacrifice one for the other,” Austin said.

Afghans Promise Comeback vs. Taliban as US Delivers New Aircraft

July 13, 2021 | By Abraham Mahshie

Afghanistan’s American-trained, equipped, and financed military has lost dozens of provinces to the Taliban in “tactical retreats” in the 10 weeks since the U.S. began its withdrawal, but an Afghan government official in Washington, D.C., promised that his country would not succumb to the Taliban rebels and said it’s counting on aircraft the U.S. will give it to help defeat its nemesis.

“We are going to take it back, and we have that capability,” the official said July 13, dismissing the possibility that the Taliban might ultimately seize Kabul and the Afghan air force’s assets. “Our air force, our air bases [have the] maximum securities.”

Afghan officials spoke to Air Force Magazine on the condition of anonymity.

The Pentagon announced July 12 that it will give the Afghan Air Force 37 UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and three A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft and also refurbish its fleet of Mi-17 Soviet-era helicopters to support its 300,000-strong ground force.

The official who referred to “tactical retreats,” who helped to facilitate Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s recent visit to Washington, described the military’s ceding of rural provinces to the Taliban as a tactic to avoid losing soldiers and causing civilian casualties. He accused the Taliban of embedding in civilian areas as a means of warding off artillery attacks by government forces.

Peace talks between Ghani’s Kabul government and the Taliban have stalled, and defense experts say the Taliban is using the U.S. withdrawal and its own offensive to increase its bargaining position.

The United States, meanwhile, no longer provides air support to Afghan Armed Forces when in need, ratcheting up the pressure on the Afghan air force. Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby told journalists July 13 that the first two Blackhawks would be delivered soon.

The Afghan official said the helicopters are sorely needed. “It is crucial,” the official said. “Air support is crucial for our ground forces, and we need them desperately as the United States and NATO withdraw the troop. We need these Blackhawks right away.”

Terrorists pouring in

The Afghan officials emphasized the counterterrorism nature of promised “over-the-horizon” support from the U.S., insisting that the Taliban and terrorist groups including al Qaida and Islamic State are working in concert to bring down the Afghan central government.

“There are 20 terrorist networks or groups fighting in Afghanistan,” one official said. “The Afghanistan security forces are not only fighting with the Taliban. They are fighting with these 20 terrorist groups.”

Terrorist sympathizers are reportedly crossing the border with Pakistan to join the Taliban against the central government. The official denied reports that airstrikes were withheld due to lack of U.S.-provided intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. The official also said Taliban propaganda was painting an inaccurate picture of the Afghan government’s battle rhythm and capabilities.

The Afghan Ministry of Defense has released near daily videos of airstrikes on Taliban targets, named Taliban commanders killed, and listed the number of Taliban fighters injured and killed.

“As a result of the attacks and operations of the air force, especially in recent weeks, terrorists have suffered heavy casualties across the country,” Afghan Defense Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi said July 11. “The airstrikes of the Afghan air forces have frightened the enemy.”

‘We have the pilots’

The official also assured that the Afghan Air Force has sufficient pilots and maintainers to operate effectively despite recent reporting by Reuters that seven Afghan pilots had been assassinated by the Taliban and that the Afghan air force would soon be short on pilots.

“We have the pilots, the maintainers, but we … need the support, continuous support to continue the mission,” the official said of U.S. promises for financial assistance, pilot training, and remote maintenance.

The official said airstrikes by the Afghan air force are conducted using Afghan military intelligence, but the official admitted that maintaining aircraft will get harder without assistance from American contractors. At present, aircraft maintenance is expected to be performed remotely by American forces at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

“Airstrikes [are] happening in coordination with the Afghan ground troops in the field,” the official said, confirming Afghan ISR capabilities. “Of course, without that critical information, those pinpoint operation air strikes wouldn’t happen.”

The United States has so far not announced a regional basing agreement, even after Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III met with the defense ministers of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan on July 1-2.

Nonetheless, the Afghan official expressed high confidence that the over-the-horizon support that could be provided by the U.S. Air Force from bases in the Gulf countries are sufficient to support the Kabul government’s fight against the Taliban.

“We believe in the capability of our security forces and the air forces,” the official said. “As long as we are united, we believe in these 350,000 brave soldiers. … Afghanistan will not fall at the hand of the Taliban.”

Former Air Force Acquisition Chief Lands CEO Job with Drone Company

July 13, 2021 | By Greg Hadley

The Air Force’s former acquisition boss has landed a new job as the CEO of a Silicon Valley-backed startup specializing in many of the same technologies he championed during his time with the service.

Will Roper was announced as the new chief executive officer of Volansi, a logistics and drone building company, July 8. He had joined the company’s board of directors in March after leaving his job as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics in January.

In an interview with Air Force Magazine, Roper acknowledged that Volansi, which was founded in 2015, is still something of a “dark horse” in the industry. But in deciding his next move after leaving the Pentagon, he cited his desire to work on the same problems and opportunities that interested him in the Air Force.

“This aerial logistics mission is one I have been watching since Amazon first showed that video of delivering packages on people’s doorsteps,” Roper said. “I have been waiting to harness this for the military, [but] it has not been mature at any time that I have been in service.

“And it was just coming together when I was leaving, creating the Agility Prime program to get these electric vehicles that take off vertically, then fly linearly like traditional airplanes, to get them ready for primetime, by using the military as a springboard. But, I didn’t have the time to complete that journey on the government side, and it just happens to be that I’ve been given a chance to follow the journey on the commercial side.”

Agility Prime, aimed at accelerating the commercial market for flying cars, was one of Roper’s signature programs as acquisition chief, as he developed a reputation as a fast-moving innovator who pushed the military to engage with nontraditional partners and develop far-reaching future technologies.

And Volansi was one of the first Silicon Valley-backed private partners to engage with the Air Force, Roper said. The company debuted its VOLY M20 drone, designed in part for military use, at the Air Force’s Agility Prime Virtual Trade Show in May 2020, and it signed a contract with the Department of Defense in December 2020 as part of the Skyborg Vanguard program.

Both the Skyborg and Agility Prime programs are ones Roper said he wants to continue to engage with at Volansi. But he also expressed an interest in working with the military in other ways. Specifically, Roper said he hoped Volansi would be able to help the Navy with rapid ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore deliveries and the Army with tactical logistics, providing units with everything from batteries to ammunition to food to medicine on the battlefield.

In working with the military and other defense partners, Roper said Volansi plans later this year to unveil bigger drones capable of carrying heavier payloads—the VOLY M20, the company’s largest drone, can carry 20 pounds of cargo and 10 pounds of ISR sensors with a range of 350 miles. Specifically, Roper said he thinks the company will release two more drone models, both heavier than the M20.

Drones, however, are only part of what attracted Roper to Volansi. The company has its own operating system and software necessary for autonomous takeoffs and landings. It also uses concepts such as digital engineering, incorporating real-time flight data, and predictive maintenance.

Those same technological advances were ones Roper advocated for in the Air Force, and they are as key to Volansi’s future as the actual drones are, he said.

“I think the thing that’s really understated is the software and autonomy in the company,” Roper said. “If you got rid of all the drones, it’s still probably a viable company, and that’s unusual to say for a drone company. They have the only vertically integrated avionics autopilot and autonomy stack that I have seen in the retail space. Almost everything comes from China. And I’m seriously considering licensing that software so that other companies can accelerate in the U.S. in the retail space so that the U.S. dominates this market.”

Translating capabilities across missions is key to Roper’s vision for Volansi—the usefulness of autonomous VTOL drones can apply to situations as varied as disaster relief to frontline warfare. In those scenarios, the military can lead the way, Roper said.

“It all dovetails very well with a military mission that can lead the charge before we spin off commercially. … Our main ambitions are commercial. It just so happens that working with the military seems to be a pretty good dress rehearsal for getting us ready to go there,” he said.

And while Roper’s tenure at Volansi is just beginning, he didn’t rule out the possibility of a future return to the Pentagon, especially if he knows the person asking him to take the job.

“If it was a job where I thought I could help, then of course I would. And if I’m not asked, then, you know, I also have found that there are lots of ways I can support the mission in the private sector,” Roper said.

“I think you might be able to argue that I might be able to have a little bigger impact, at least for a short amount of time, in the private sector, because I can do things here that I simply couldn’t do inside of the government. I’m going to learn a lot. I’m going to grow a lot. And then if I ever find myself back inside the five-sided building, I’ll be a much more well rounded leader that has learned more. So however the chips fall, I’ll be ready to make a contribution on one side or the other.”

Warren Lifts Hold on Kendall Nomination After Ethics Agreement Extension

July 13, 2021 | By Abraham Mahshie

Air Force Secretary nominee Frank Kendall is one step closer to clearing a major procedural hurdle after agreeing to extend his industry recusal from two years to four years at the behest of Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Kendall’s May 25 nomination has been on hold for weeks due to holds by Warren, Michigan Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, and Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee.

With Congress’s August recess approaching, the potential for an even longer delay in Kendall’s nomination was feared by many defense watchers eager to get the longtime industry and acquisitions expert on board at the Pentagon.

Also held up was undersecretary of defense for research and engineering nominee Heidi Schyu, and Defense News reported July 13 that “multiple senators” have placed holds on a dozen Pentagon nominees, including Kendall and Schyu.

“Senator Warren lifted her holds on defense nominees Kendall and Shyu after they each agreed to her requests for them to extend their ethics agreements/industry recusals from two years to four years,” an aide familiar with the hold informed Air Force Magazine.

The two agreed to avoid seeking a waiver to their ethics agreements, consistent with a commitment Warren pressed Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III to make at his nomination hearing.

In addition to the nominated candidates, the ethics crusader has proposed two bills to tighten oversight and root out potential conflicts of interest between defense companies and the Pentagon.

Warren’s DOD ethics and anti-corruption act would prohibit big defense contractors from hiring former senior DOD officials for four years after they leave government, while an aide called her anti-corruption and public integrity act “the most ambitious anti-corruption legislation since Watergate.”

Peters’s hold on the Kendall nomination relates to the awarding of an F-35 international training center to Arkansas’s Ebbing Air National Guard Base instead of Michigan’s Selfridge Air National Guard Base. Lee, meanwhile, declines to confirm or deny that he has a hold in place. A Senate aide confirmed the three holds to Air Force Magazine.

The offices of senators Peters and Lee did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the absence of a permanent Air Force secretary, acting secretary John P. Roth is the second-longest-serving temporary leader in the position at over 170 days.

Larson Takes Command of Reserve’s 22nd Air Force

July 13, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

Maj. Gen. Bret C. Larson took over as commander of 22nd Air Force on July 10 during a ceremony at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga.

Larson assumed command from Maj. Gen. John P. Healy, who has led the numbered air force since July 2019. The 22nd Air Force is responsible for Air Force Reserve Command’s C-130 units, which provide airlift, aeromedical evacuation, undergraduate pilot training, civil engineering, and flight testing, among other activities.

Larson previously served as the mobilization assistant to the commander of Air Education and Training Command and has commanded the 404th and 409th Air Expeditionary Groups, the 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, the 95th Airlift Squadron; and served as vice commander of the 914th Airlift Wing, according to a Reserve release.

“I am confident that 22nd Air Force will continue to thrive under General Larson’s leadership,” said AFRC boss Lt. Gen. Richard W. Scobee, who officiated the ceremony.

“My desire to continue to serve is not to serve myself, my boss, General Scobee, or higher headquarters, but to serve you, the Airmen of 22nd Air Force,” Larson said, according to the release. “I look at it as my job to do everything in my power to make sure you have the equipment, training, and motivation you need to be the best Airmen you can be and to be 100 percent ready to answer our nation’s call when needed.”

The Air Force has not announced Healy’s next move.