President Barack Obama has nominated Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson for a fourth star and to serve as the Air Force vice chief of staff, the Pentagon announced Friday. Wilson has been the deputy chief of US Strategic Command since July 2015, and headed Global Strike Command before then. If confirmed by the Senate, he would replace Gen. David Goldfein, Obama’s nominee to be the next Chief of Staff of the Air Force. Sources told Air Force Magazine in May Wilson was the likely choice to fill Goldfein’s spot due, in part, to his knowledge of the nuclear mission as the service prepares to modernize its legs of the strategic triad. If confirmed, he will represent the service on a number of joint-service committees, including the Joint Requirements Oversight Council. Obama also tapped Maj. Gen. VeraLinn Jamieson to become the deputy chief of staff for USAF Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance on the Air Staff. Jamieson, currently the deputy commander of US Strategic Command’s Joint Functional Component Command for ISR, would replace Lt. Gen. Robert Otto if confirmed. She should be familiar with the role because she was a special assistant for the deputy chief of staff for USAF ISR between November 2012 and December 2013, before becoming Air Combat Command’s director of intelligence. The service has not yet announced if Otto will move to a new position or retire after nearly 35 years in uniform.
Sticker Shock Drags Out USAF’s E-7 Negotiations with Boeing
April 18, 2024
While a deal on the E-7 Wedgetail airborne battle management jet may come soon, negotiations are stuck on the high price Boeing is asking for the development jets, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said recently.