Lt. Gen. William Shelton, commander of 14th Air Force and STRATCOM’s Joint Functional Component Command for Space, formally received his third star during a ceremony Jan. 8 at Vandenberg AFB, Calif. Gen. Kevin Chilton, STRATCOM commander, presided over the ceremony; Air Force Space Command head, Gen. Robert Kehler, also participated. Shelton assumed command of 14th AF in May 2005; his duties expanded in July 2006 when he took the helm of the JFCC-S. The Senate confirmed him for the third star on Dec. 19. (USAF report by SrA. Stephen Cadette)
A top Pentagon tech official called on industry this week to help the military develop “lighter, more efficient” directed energy weapons designed to go on aircraft and conduct special operations missions or down drones—areas where the Air Force’s directed energy efforts have been quiet as of late.