The Senate on Thursday confirmed Lt. Gen. James Holmes to receive his fourth star and take over as commander of Air Combat Command. Holmes, currently the deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and requirements, will take over from Gen. Hawk Carlisle, who is retiring. Carlisle has led ACC since October 2014. Holmes is a command pilot with more than 4,000 hours in multiple aircraft, mostly F-15s. Maj. Gen. John McMullen has been tapped to be Holmes’s deputy.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.