Lt. Gen. Tod Wolters assumed command of 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) from Lt. Gen. Robin Rand. The leadership change took place during a ceremony on Sept. 24 at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., according to a base release. Wolters previously served as the director of the Air Force’s legislative liaison office at the Pentagon. Rand, who led 12th AF since December 2011, will put on a fourth star for his next assignment leading Air Education and Training Command at JBSA-Lackland, Tex. The Senate approved Rand for the post in August. “It has been an absolute pleasure working alongside you these past 30 years,” said Air Combat Command boss Gen. Mike Hostage to Rand during the ceremony. “I’ve seen first hand how you’ve delivered in every challenge put before you. Air Education and Training Command is gaining a great leader,” said Hostage. Rand thanked 12th AF’s airmen for their hard work. “No commander could have had a better championship team than the one I just played on,” he said.
Happy Birthday US Air Force: 78 Today
Sept. 18, 2025
Seventy-eight years ago today, on Sept. 18, 1947, Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred Vinson swore in Stuart Symington as the first ever Secretary of the Air Force, and the Air Force officially became the first new military service since the Revolutionary War.
