Maj. Gen. Scott Rice has been confirmed by the Senate for promotion to lieutenant general and for assignment as the new director of the Air National Guard. Rice, the adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard, replaces Maj. Gen. Brian Neal, who has served as the acting director since Lt. Gen. Stanley Clarke retired in March. Rice was commissioned in 1980 through the ROTC program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, N.Y., and joined the Massachusetts ANG’s 104th Fighter Wing in 1989, flying the A-10. He has deployed to Bosnia, Kosovo, Kuwait, and Iraq, and currently serves as the secretary of the Adjutants General Association of the United States.
A semi-autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft drone shot down an air-to-air target in a Dec. 8 test supported by the U.S. Air Force, a notable milestone in the development of the loyal wingman-type drones that will join the fleets of the USAF, other American services, and allies and adversaries.
