Maj. Gen. Donald Alston assumed command of 20th Air Force during a July 1 ceremony at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo. The numbered air force oversees the nation’s Minuteman III ICBMs that are dispersed in silos over parts of Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming. “This is a great honor and opportunity,” said Alston at the change-in-command ceremony. Alston replaced Maj. Gen. Roger Burg, who had led 20th AF since August 2007 and is retiring from active duty after 32 years of service, effective Sept. 1. “I cannot think of anyone more qualified than General Alston to take command of 20th Air Force at this point in our history,” said Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, Air Force Global Strike Command boss and one of the ceremony’s featured speakers. Alston led the Air Staff’s nuclear office from November 2008 and is considered the architect of the service’s 2008 nuclear roadmap. (F.E. Warren report.)
The nation needs a better-coordinated policy for dealing with unmanned aerial systems that threaten domestic bases, Air Force vice chief of staff Gen. James C. Slife told a panel of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He and Pentagon acquisition and sustainment chief William LaPlante co-chair a panel looking at counter-UAS…