A career special operations pilot will become the second-highest officer at the Space Force’s Space Operations Command, according to a slew of promotions and job changes announced Jan. 30.
Col. Michael Conley, selected for promotion to brigadier general, comes to the Space Force after having run the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Fla., since 2018. He has flown several types of aircraft, including the UH-1N helicopter, the CV-22 tiltrotor, AC-130W gunship, and MC-130J refueling and airlift plane, and he has spent time in the Pentagon.
At Space Operations Command, he will provide U.S. Space Command and others with the resources for space capabilities such as space domain awareness, electronic warfare, satellite communications, missile warning, nuclear detonation detection, environmental monitoring, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, command and control, and positioning, navigation, and timing.
Other senior Space Force officials, such as Chief of Space Operations Gen. Jay Raymond and Space Operations Command boss Maj. Gen. John Shaw have come from within the Air Force’s space enterprise.
Twenty-two other Air Force officers will get new jobs as well:
- Maj. Gen. Kenneth Bibb, Air Force Materiel Command’s director of strategic plans, programs, requirements, and analyses, will become commander of 18th Air Force at Air Mobility Command.
- Maj. Gen. Mark Camerer, director of strategic plans, requirements, and programs at AMC, will run the Air Force Expeditionary Center. He will be replaced by Brig. Gen. Ryan Samuelson, who now serves as director of U.S. Central Command’s Deployment and Distribution Operations Center in Kuwait.
- Maj. Gen. Mark Weatherington, Air Education and Training Command deputy commander, is becoming commander of 8th Air Force, which handles bomber forces, and commander of the Joint-Global Strike Operations Center at Air Force Global Strike Command.
- Maj. Gen. William Spangenthal, operations and communications director at AETC, will become its deputy commander.
- Maj. Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, head of the Air Force Recruiting Service, will take over for Spangenthal. She is replaced by USAF Public Affairs Director Brig. Gen. Ed Thomas.
- Maj. Gen. Michael Lutton, deputy director of nuclear, homeland defense, and current operations on the Joint Staff, will oversee 20th Air Force, which manages intercontinental ballistic missiles.
- Brig. Gen. Laura Lenderman, commander of the 502nd Air Base Wing who also runs AETC at Joint Base San Antonio, is taking over as the command’s director of plans, programs, and requirements. She succeeds Brig. Gen. James Sears, who is taking over as Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center commander.
- Brig. Gen. Robert Lyman, U.S. Transportation Command’s director of command, control, communication, and cyber systems, will become the Air Force’s assistant deputy chief of staff for cyber effects operations and assistant deputy chief information officer for digital transformation.
- Brig. Gen. Albert Miller, Defense Logistics Agency-Energy commander, will move to AMC as its KC-46 enterprise lead.
- Brig. Gen. James Peccia III, AFMC’s financial management director, will become the Air Force’s deputy assistant budget secretary.
- Brig. Gen. Bradley Pyburn, director of cyberspace operations and deputy chief of staff for ISR and cyber operations, is heading to 16th Air Force as its operations director. He replaces Brig. Gen. George Reynolds, who is becoming vice commander of the Air Force Warfare Center.
- Brig. Gen. Michael Rawls, deputy commander of NATO’s mission to Iraq, will take over as commander of the Spaatz Center for Officer Education and as commandant of the Air War College.
- Brig. Gen. Daniel Simpson is moving from deputy chief of staff for intelligence at Operation Resolute Support to serve as the Air Force’s assistant deputy chief of staff for ISR.
- Brig. Gen. select Christopher Amrhein, who currently works in Operation Resolute Support and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, is AMC’s new inspector general.
- Brig. Gen. select Larry Broadwell, executive officer to the Air Force chief of staff, will command the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing at Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.
- Brig. Gen. select Daniel DeVoe, vice commander of the Tanker Airlift Control Center, received a promotion to commander.
- Brig. Gen. select Leslie Maher, the Air Force Secretary’s senior military assistant, will run the Jeanne M. Holm Center for Officer Accessions and Citizen Development.
- Brig. Gen. select Joshua Olson, executive officer to the TRANSCOM commander, will command the 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.