President Bush has nominated Maj. Gen. Larry James for appointment to the grade of lieutenant general to serve as commander of 14th Air Force (Air Forces Strategic-Space) at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., the Pentagon announced July 14. In that role, James would also head US Strategic Command’s Joint Functional Component Command for Space. James is currently vice commander of 5th Air Force and deputy commander of 13th Air Force at Yokota AB, Japan. He would replace Lt. Gen. William Shelton who has led 14th AF since May 2007. Shelton has been nominated to be the Air Force’s chief of warfighting integration.
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.