Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh assigned Maj. Gen. Thomas Masiello to command the Air Force Research Lab at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, announced the Pentagon. Masiello has been serving since May 2011 as director of special programs in the Pentagon’s acquisition shop. He will replace Maj. Gen. William McCasland, who has led AFRL since May 2011.
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
