Gen. Arthur Lichte, head of Air Mobility Command, gave an upbeat assessment of the new Chief of Staff, Gen. Norton Schwartz, when asked Wednesday his take on the Air Force’s new leadership. “I think you’ll find him to be a very thoughtful man,” Lichte told defense reporters at a breakfast meeting in Washington, D.C. “[Schwartz] thinks through problems, he’s very joint in nature,” Lichte continued, noting that he attended the National War College with Schwartz and has known him since 1988. Lichte said he believes that Schwartz will have a unique perspective on the service’s challenges, not just because of his mobility background, but also due to his career with special operations. “That’s where I think he will think differently, because the special ops guys think differently,” Lichte said. “And so he will come at problems with a slightly different approach.”
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
