Lt. Gen Daniel Tulley took charge of Air Mobility Command on Aug. 3, where he will oversee the Air Force’s vast airlift, aerial refueling, and aeromedical evacuation missions around the world.
Tulley moves to AMC after less than a year as commander and president of Air University, filling the void left when Gen. John Lamontagne was promoted to vice chief of staff of the Air Force earlier this year. AMC Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Rebecca Sonkiss has been the acting AMC commander since February.
Mobility forces have been crucial to high-profile military operations this year from Venezuela to Iran, said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach at the assumption of command ceremony at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.
“Recent operations like Absolute Resolve and Epic Fury have reminded us that airlift, aerial refueling, aeromedical evacuation, and global logistics are not simply supporting functions,” Wilsbach said. “They create options for our nation’s leaders, provide freedom of action for combatant commanders, and make the employment of military power possible.”
Tulley now manages the employment and integration of about 107,000 total force Airmen and more than 1,100 aircraft to sustain the Air Force’s global mobility support network.
“In every sense of the word, they enable maneuver,” Wilsbach continued.
Picking up on a theme sounded increasingly by Air Force leaders, Tulley said, “AMC is a warfighting command” that complements the rest of th emilitary. “We plan, integrate, and fight alongside every combatant command. We shape the plan, set the force, sustain the campaign, and preserve freedom of maneuver for joint force commanders. When the mission is complete, we bring that force home.”
Tulley is the first commander in AMC’s 34-year history to hold the job as a three-star general. The command was downgraded from four stars—along with U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Force Materiel Command—after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered all the services to reduce the number of four-star generals and admirals across the military.
A career KC-135 Stratotanker and C-130 Hercules pilot, Tulley has commanded mobility units at the squadron, wing, and group level over his 34-year career, and also held key staff jobs, such as director of operations for U.S. Transportation Command at Scott. He earned his commission as an ROTC graduate out of Duke University.
At the ceremony, TRANSCOM head Gen. Randall Reed called Tulley a “proven leader” with a keen eye for strategy. “He is clear-eyed about the need to deliver solutions to meet national objectives and to be my air component commander,” Reed said.
Tulley’s successor at Air University is an unusual selection: The White House nominated Maj. Gen. Charles S. Corcoran to lead the Air Force’s advanced education programs at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., bringing back an officer three years after he retired from the Air Staff, where he was Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations. Prior to that, Corcoran had commanded the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.