The Air Force on Friday announced that Maj. Gen. Garry Dean would replace Maj. Gen. Hank Morrow as commander of the Continental NORAD Region and 1st Air Force/Air Forces Northern, headquartered at Tyndall AFB, Fla. Morrow now is going to serve within US Central Command as the US defense representative, US Liaison Office in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Dean, who has been serving at the Pentagon as the USAF deputy Inspector General, is a 1978 Air Force Academy graduate and F-15 pilot who transferred to the Air National Guard in 1987, serving in both the Georgia and Oregon Air Guard.
Three of four congressional committees with influence over defense policy have voted to change the official name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War—but final approval of the Pentagon rebrand is months away and not yet assured.