The Air Force on Monday fired two commanders and disciplined a third at two of its three ICBM bases, reported the Associated Press. Col. Carl Jones, the vice commander of the 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., was relieved of command “for a loss of trust and confidence in his leadership abilities,” reported AP. An internal investigation found that “in four separate instances, Jones acted in a manner that degraded his status as a senior officer and wing leader, including maltreating a subordinate,” Air Force Global Strike Command spokesman Lt. Col. John Sheets told the AP. Also on Monday, Lt. Col. Jimmy Brown, 741st Missile Squadron commander at Minot AFB, N.D., was fired for a “loss of confidence” in his “ability to lead his squadron,” reported AP. An investigation found that Brown “engaged in unlawful discrimination or harassment” and “made statements to subordinates that created a perception within his squadron that pregnancy would negatively affect a woman’s career,” states the AP article. Col. Richard Pagliuco, commander of the 91st Operations Group, which oversees the 741st as well as two other missile squadrons, received administrative punishment for failing “to promote and safeguard the morale, well-being, and welfare of the airmen under his command,” states the article. Sheets told Air Force Magazine, “We have a demanding mission that requires everyone from the airmen in the field to the teammates and leaders supporting them back at the base to give their personal best. We won’t accept a command climate that detracts from that effort. Our people must treat each other with dignity and respect—and that applies up and down the chain of command.”
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.