Brig. Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, commander of the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base, Italy. ()
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy — In a few weeks, Brig. Gen. Philip Breedlove will set a record for commanders of the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano: shortest tenure.
Breedlove, nominated Monday to receive his second star, will give up command on June 1 — a few weeks short of a year of his arrival in northern Italy. That’s the least amount of time that someone has been in command of the wing since it activated in Aviano on April 1, 1994. The seven previous commanders had served at least 17 months on the job.
Maj. Patrick Ryder, a public affairs officer for U.S. Air Forces in Europe, said Breedlove’s nomination to become a major general meant he’s “exceeded the requirements for his current job.” In other words, there are no two-star generals commanding fighter wings in the Air Force.
Breedlove, away from base this week and not available for comment, will fill a post at Ramstein Air Base in Germany as a senior operational commander.
Ryder said Breedlove should assume his duties at Ramstein soon after leaving Aviano.
“Based on his mix of skills and experience, he will be very well suited for his next job,” Ryder said.
Another former commander at Aviano, Brig. Gen. Mike Worden, also was nominated Monday to receive his second star. Breedlove’s immediate predecessor at Aviano, Worden is currently director, operational plans and joint matters, deputy chief of staff, Air and Space Operations at Air Force Headquarters at the Pentagon.
Breedlove’s replacement at Aviano will be Col. Robert Yates, currently the assistant director of Air and Space Operations for the Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base, Va. Yates has been nominated to receive his first star.
Yates will be one of several new commanders taking charge at Aviano in the next two months.
On June 7, Col. Scott Zobrist takes over the 31st Operations Group from Col. Steven Schrader. Zobrist is coming from Langley and Schrader will be the new vice commander at Aviano.
On June 14, Col. Kimberly Toney takes over the 31st Mission Support Group from Col. Scott Chambers. Toney is coming from the Pentagon and Chambers will become vice commander for the Air Force Inspection Agency.
On June 21, Col. Michael Schaffrinna takes over command of the 31st Medical Group. Schaffrinna is coming from Travis Air Force Base, Calif. Col. Lee Payne gave up command in April.
On June 23, Col. Joseph Ford takes command of the 401st Air Expeditionary Wing from Col. Joseph Abbott. Ford is currently vice commander of the 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. Abbott will be the ROTC detachment commander at the University of Arizona.
Also nominated ...
Four Europe-based generals and admirals were recently nominated by President Bush to receive their second stars.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld made the announcements.
Nominated for promotion to Air Force major general are:
Brig. Gen. David E. Clary, deputy chief of staff, operations, NATO Allied Air Component Command, Izmir, Turkey.Brig. Gen. Larry D. New, deputy commander, NATO Combined Air Operations Center 7, Larissa, Greece.Nominated to rear admiral were:
Rear Adm. Carl V. Mauney, commander of the Naples, Italy-based Submarine Group Eight, NATO Allied Submarines Mediterranean, and director, operations and plans, Naval Forces Europe.Rear Adm. Garry E. Hall, deputy chief of staff for operations, NATO Allied Maritime Component Command, Northwood, United Kingdom.— Stars and Stripes
