Maj. Gen. William McCasland is now in charge of the Air Force Research Lab after a change-of-command ceremony at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. McCasland succeeds Maj. Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, who is moving on to her next assignment as commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles AFB, Calif. The Senate has confirmed Pawlikowski’s nomination to receive a third star. She led AFRL since February 2010. McCasland’s prior assignment was as director of special programs in the Pentagon’s acquisition office, a position he held since June 2009. The change of command took place on May 13. (Wright-Patterson release)
The Pentagon is significantly bolstering airpower near Venezuela, dispatching the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to Latin America, it said in an Oct. 24 statement. The announcement came just hours after U.S. Air Force B-1 bombers and other U.S. assets flew near the Venezuelan coast on Oct. 23.
