Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz has assigned Maj. Gen. Lawrence Wells to take command of 9th Air Force at Shaw AFB, S.C. He succeeds Maj. Gen. Stephen Hoog, who’s been in charge of 9th AF since last August. Wells comes to Shaw from Yongsan Army Garrison, South Korea, where he’s been deputy chief of staff for United Nations Command and US Forces Korea since July 2009. He is a command pilot with more than 2,500 flight hours in aircraft such as the F-16, KC-10, and U-2. (DOD release)
F-35As from the Vermont Air National Guard have deployed to Puerto Rico in recent days, continuing a major buildup of U.S. Air Force assets in Latin America aimed at combating drug trafficking and pressuring the regime of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
