Lt. Gen. Bud Wyatt, 
Air National Guard director since February 2009, on Tuesday stepped down from his post and retired from the Air Force after more than 40 years of service during a ceremony at JB Andrews, Md. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) hosted the ceremony, during which Wyatt received the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal in recognition of “his outstanding leadership, professionalism, initiative, dedication, and an unwavering devotion to the welfare of service members, civilians, and their families,” states a Jan. 30 Air Guard release. Among the dignitaries in attendance were Air Force Secretary Michael Donley, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh, National Guard Bureau Chief Army Gen. Frank Grass, and CMSAF James Cody. Wyatt, a native of Oklahoma, entered the Air Force in 1971. As ANG boss, he oversaw the more than 106,000 Air Guardsmen spread across the United States and its territories. Replacing him as Air Guard director will be Lt. Gen. Stanley Clarke, whom the Senate in early January approved for the assignment. Clarke is scheduled to assume the post in late February, states the release. (Washington, D.C., report by SMSgt. Jerry R. Bynum)
In the wake of a major Chinese military shakeup, the head of U.S. Space Command warned of China’s “breathtakingly fast” advances in space during visits to Japan and South Korea. Gen. Stephen N. Whiting’s trip to the Indo-Pacific is his first overseas visit since taking command of SPACECOM in January.