Maj. Gen. Anthony Cotton accepted command of 20th Air Force from outgoing commander Maj. Gen. Jack Weinstein in a Nov. 16 ceremony at F. E. Warren AFB, Wyo., officials announced. The numbered air force is tasked with overseeing Air Force Global Strike Command’s ICBM force in support of US Strategic Command. Weinstein led 20th AF since October 2013, and is receiving his third-star to become the assistant chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration on the Air Staff. Cotton previously served as deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office, and previously commanded the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom AFB, Mont., and the 45th Space Wing at Patrick AFB, Fla. As commander, he will lead USSTRATCOM’s Task Force 214 in addition to overseeing 20th AF’s 10,200 personnel and its nuclear operations support wing at Kirtland AFB, N.M.
After a long period in which munitions were almost an afterthought and sacrificed to pay for other priorities, the Air Force needs to focus on them in order to have the right “package” of capabilities for future conflicts, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. said June 7.