CMSgt. Allen Usry, the current command chief for the Continental US NORAD Region-1st Air Force (Air Forces Northern) at Tyndall AFB, Fla., will take over as NORAD-US Northern Command’s command senior enlisted advisor in Colorado Springs, Colo., from Army Command Sergeant Major Daniel Wood, who is retiring. According to an April 27 Tyndall release, Usry is the first Air Guardsman selected to be the command senior enlisted advisor for a combatant command. “It is a great day for the Air National Guard, 1st Air Force, NORAD-NORTHCOM, and most especially, Chief Master Sergeant Usry,” said Maj. Gen. Hank Morrow, commander of CONR-1st AF, where Usry has served since June 2005. Morrow added, “Not only does his selection set a precedent, it’s extremely well deserved.” Usry joined the Oklahoma Air National Guard in 1988 after six years as a Marine. (Usry bio)
U.S. Air Force F-35s and F-22s regularly deploy deep into the Pacific region from Alaska, Utah, and Hawaii. In the future, though, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command would like to see the Air Force permanently station fifth-generation aircraft west of the international date line—closer to China.