Gen. Edward Rice, head of Air Education and Training Command, selected CMSgt. Gerardo Tapia to be the command’s next senior enlisted leader, replacing CMSgt. James Cody. Tapia, currently command chief for 12th Air Force at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., is slated to begin his tenure as AETC’s command chief at the end of the month, according to the command’s Dec. 21 release. Cody will become the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force on Feb. 1. He has been AETC’s senior enlisted airman since September 2010. Tapia has nearly 28 years of Air Force service. He is a master personnelist and a native of El Paso, Tex.
Since President Donald Trump first unveiled his “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative in late January, much of the focus for it has been focused on space—how the Pentagon may deploy dozens, if not hundreds, of sensors and interceptors into orbit to protect the continental U.S. from missile barrages. But the Air…