The President has nominated Maj. Gen. Richard Newton III for promotion to lieutenant general as deputy chief of staff for manpower and personnel. • Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles AFB, Calif., has dedicated the nine-foot-tall bronze statue of Gen. Bernard Schriever, considered the father of USAF’s space and missile program, that now stands in SMC’s courtyard. • The Defense Department selected as top maintenance units of the year two Air Force units—the 56th Maintenance Group at Luke AFB, Ariz., for large-size units and 1st Maintenance Squadron at Langley AFB, Va., for medium-size units. • A World War II-era P-38 has surfaced in the sand and water off Wales where it lay buried for 65 years after crash-landing, reports Associated Press; weather and tides have again buried the aircraft, but a historical preservations group and museums may try to salvage it next year. • Randolph AFB, Tex., is the site of a DOD test of an automated entry control system that will let common access card holders enter the base after a reader scans their card; it’s one of several test efforts to improve access but preserve security and will conclude early next year.
US Space Command Should Always Be Led by a Guardian
Sept. 12, 2026
General Stephen Whiting took command of U.S. Space Command in January 2024, and if customary three-year tenures hold, his tour would end in January 2027. The question now before the President and Senate is who should follow him? Whoever they choose, it has to be a Guardian—and so should every successor…
