Lt. Gen. Glenn Spears, currently the deputy commander of US Southern Command, has been nominated to take over 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern), replacing Lt Gen. Norman Seip, the Air Force announced yesterday. Seip, who has lead AFSOUTH since July 2006, is retiring later this year. Spears, a 31-year airman, has been the No. 2 at SOUTHCOM since June 2006.
The U.S. military conducted a new series of airstrikes on Iran June 26, a day after Tehran struck a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz. The twin attacks presented a fresh test for a tenuous ceasefire between the two countries.