President Bush has nominated Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert J. Elder Jr. for promotion to lieutenant general and to command 8th Air Force at Barksdale AFB, La. Elder, who currently is commandant of the Air War College and vice commander of Air University, also would serve as the joint functional component commander for Space and Global Strike at US Strategic Command, headquartered at Offutt AFB, Neb. If confirmed, Elder would take over from Lt. Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, who recently was nominated to take become commander of Air Force Space Command.
NASA Boss: Race to Moon Has National Security Stakes
Sept. 15, 2026
NASA is pushing hard to get astronauts back to the moon by 2028—and the urgency is driven in no small part by the national security implications of doing so before China does, Administrator Jared Isaacman said Sept. 15.
