Brig. Gen. John Gallemore gives his first speech as commander of the 18th Wing at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, July 14, 2025. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripes)
KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa — A former Thunderbird pilot with extensive leadership experience, including in the Indo-Pacific, has taken command of the largest U.S. fighter base in the Western Pacific.
Brig. Gen. John Gallemore, who has logged more than 4,300 flight hours in the F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-15E Strike Eagle, T-38 Talon and T-37 Tweet, took over the 18th Wing from Brig. Gen. Nicholas Evans during a change-of-command ceremony Monday.
More than 500 airmen and guests attended the ceremony in a hangar on Kadena’s flight line on a humid, rainy morning. The event also marked a change of responsibility for the wing’s senior enlisted leader, as Command Chief Master Sgt. William Cupp succeeded Chief Master Sgt. Brandon Wolfgang.
Evans will next serve as deputy superintendent at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
In his keynote remarks, Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost, commander of U.S. Forces Japan and 5th Air Force, praised Evans and Wolfgang, calling their leadership “nothing but exemplary.”
“For the last two years, Wolf and I have tried to ensure that the 18th Wing is both a good ally and a good neighbor,” Evans told the crowd. He also expressed appreciation to local Japanese officials, including the mayors of Chatan, Kadena and Okinawa city, offering thanks in their native language.
During Evans’ tenure, the 18th Wing retired its fleet of 48 F-15C/D Eagles, temporarily filling the gap with rotating squadrons of advanced fourth- and fifth-generation fighters.
Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost, commander of U.S. Forces Japan and 5th Air Force, left, receives the 18th Wing guidon from Brig. Gen. Nicholas Evans during a change-of-command ceremony at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, July 14, 2025. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripes)
Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost, commander of U.S. Forces Japan and 5th Air Force, left, passes the 18th Wing guidon to Brig. Gen. John B. Gallemore during a change-of-command ceremony at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, July 14, 2025. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripes)
In July 2024, the Air Force announced plans to permanently station 36 F-15EX Eagle IIs at Kadena. They are expected to arrive between March and June 2026, Evans told reporters in March.
Two F-15 EXs from the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., arrived at Kadena on Saturday for short-term integration and familiarization training, the 18th Wing said in a news release that day. The wing, in an unsigned email Monday, declined to answer questions about the training.
Aircraft displayed on the flight line during Monday’s ceremony included an F-15E, an F-35A Lightning II and an MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle. MQ-9 operations at Kadena began in late 2023.
Jost credited Evans with helping establish Pacific Air Forces’ first MQ-9 unit at the base.
“The wing’s ability to sustain hundreds of rotational forces … across 32 squadrons while managing these complex force changes is indeed a testament to your exceptional leadership, expertise and organizational skills,” he said.
Evans’ time at Kadena also coincided with a rise in criminal incidents involving U.S. service members on the island.
A Japanese court in December sentenced Senior Airman Brennon Washington to five years in prison with labor for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old Japanese girl. Washington was one of four U.S. service members charged with sexual assault or attempted sexual assault on Okinawa since March 2024.
The cases prompted community backlash, official complaints and public apologies by U.S. military leaders and diplomats. In response, liberty policies for U.S. troops in Japan were tightened in October.
Gallemore, a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, most recently served as inspector general of Air Combat Command at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. He led the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, from 2021 to 2022. This is his first command in Japan.
“Our mission is not easy, but it’s clear,” he said, closing out Monday’s ceremony. “We will establish deterrence through strength. We will advance our warfighting capabilities. And if deterrence fails, we will defend this base and we will defend Japan.”
