Brian Bradley
NS&D Monitor
4/3/2015
Gen. Robin Rand will move from his job as commander of Air Education and Training Command at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, to command Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) sometime this summer. He was confirmed by the Senate late last week. The assignment will boost AFGSC from a three- to a four-star billet, and has already generated praise from Congress and the Air Force’s top enlisted official, who rebuked concerns about Rand’s lack of experience in the nuclear enterprise. “I’ll tell you this: I don’t think the nuclear background is the most important thing for the first four-star going into Global Strike Command. I think leadership was, and there’s not a better leader in our Air Force than Robin Rand,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said during a breakfast speech April 2. “Robin Rand brings leadership style and an inspirational charisma with him that is really, really important for the things we want to do as we grow Global Strike Command.”
Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson has commanded AFGSC since October 2013, and has been confirmed to serve as Deputy Commander of U.S. Strategic Command. Welsh said Wilson would officially assume that position this summer, which will open the AFGSC seat for Rand.
Louisiana Delegation Pleased
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) praised the confirmation of Rand after Louisiana’s Congressional delegation had advocated for the billet boost since 2012. Most recently, Vitter met with Defense Secretary Ash Carter to push for the upgrade after making his case during several SASC hearings. “Getting this designation for Global Strike Command has been among my top priorities for Barksdale and took years of work,” Vitter said in a statement. “Thankfully the U.S. Senate, recognizing the importance to our national security, was able to get this nomination confirmed in just a few months. The four-star designation shows the Defense Department’s long-term commitment to Barksdale and the U.S. Nuclear Triad, and it will give Barksdale a seat at the table during key decisions. After three years of working with the Air Force, the Senate, and other top defense officials, I’m proud to see the Global Strike Command mission receive this level of priority.” Carter announced Rand’s new assignment in February.
Rep. John Fleming (R-La.), whose district includes Barksdale, said boost to a four-star command will align more Air Force functions under Global Strike. “I am pleased the Senate confirmed General Robin Rand as Barksdale’s new Commander,” Fleming said in a statement. “His appointment demonstrates that the Air Force is serious about refocusing its attention on our nation’s nuclear arsenal and bomber fleet, after years of neglect. I look forward to his strong leadership and working together to ensure our nation’s most critical mission, the nuclear enterprise, remains a top priority through adequate resources and staffing.”
Other Changes in Nuclear Forces
Rand’s and Wilson’s confirmations came on the same day Welsh announced four other STRATCOM leadership changes. Brig. Gen. Anthony Cotton, Deputy Director of the National Reconnaissance Office and commander of Air Force Element, National Reconnaissance Office, Chantilly, Va., has been selected for the rank of major general and for the positions of 20th Air Force Commander and Commander of STRATCOM Task Force 214. Pending confirmation, Cotton would replace Maj. Gen. Jack Weinstein, who currently holds both of those positions. Weinstein last week was nominated for promotion to lieutenant general and to serve as Air Force Assistant Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, a post currently held by Maj. Gen. Garrett Harencak.
Col. Andrew Gebara, senior military assistant to the under secretary of the Air Force, has been selected for the rank of brigadier general and STRATCOM Deputy Director of Nuclear Operations. Also, Brig. Gen. Paul Tibbets, STRATCOM Deputy Director of Nuclear Operations, has been selected for the position of commander of the 509th Bomb Wing at Air Force Global Strike Command’s Whiteman AFB. Finally, Col. Christopher Coffelt, STRATCOM Deputy Director of Current Operations, J-3, has been selected for the rank of brigadier general and the positions of commander of the Spaatz Center for Officer Education and commandant at Air War College, Air University, Air Education and Training Command at Maxwell AFB, Ala.
Rand Was on Nuclear Alert as Fighter Pilot in Europe
Rand tops the list of recently announced nuclear force changes. His Air Education and Training Command operates nearly 1,370 trainer, fighter and mobility aircraft, 23 wings, 12 bases and five geographically separated groups, and trains over 293,000 students per year with approximately 62,000 active-duty, reserve, guard, civilian and contractor personnel. Rand has never flown bombers or worked with intercontinental ballistic missiles, but was on nuclear alert while serving as an F-16 pilot in Europe during the mid- to late 1980s. He has flown over 5,000 hours primarily in F-16s, T-38s and T-37s. Stakeholders from industry and defense groups cited skepticism surrounding Rand’s nomination, related to his lack of nuclear experience. But Welsh vouched for Rand’s level of qualification. “He understands the business,” Welsh said. “And he’ll learn the details just fine, and we’re going to put an awful lot of really smart people with nuclear experience around him.”
‘Go Become the Next Curtis Lemay’
Welsh said Rand’s charisma would be vital in leading AFGSC, and agreed with the lawmakers that the four-star designation would fortify the command’s spot at the national acquisition table. “The Air Force needs to be part of that discussion,” Welsh said. “We lead and execute two-thirds of the nuclear triad, for Christ’s sake. We should be in the middle of policy debates on this issue.” AFGSC spokesperson Carla Pampe wrote in an email to NS&D Monitor that the command welcomes Rand as the new head of the service’s No. 1 mission. “We look forward to General Rand’s leadership as we begin the next chapter in our command,” she wrote.
A four star could bolster national attention to nuclear deterrence, “where having a three star made it difficult at times,” Welsh said. “So the idea, as I told Robin Rand, was go become the next Curtis Lemay. Bring this nuclear mission, no kidding, back to the front page of Air Force attention every single day.”
