President Obama has nominated Lt. Gen. Philip Breedlove, deputy chief of staff for operations, plans, and requirements, for promotion to the grade of general to be USAF’s next vice chief of staff, service officials announced Thursday. He will replace Gen. Carrol Chandler as the Air Force’s second-highest ranking officer, if the Senate approves his nomination. Chandler, who has been vice chief since August 2009, is retiring after 36 years of uniformed service. Breedlove assumed his current Air Staff position in August 2009. He is a command pilot with more than 3,500 flying hours in F-16s and T-37s. He was commissioned in 1977. He also led 3rd Air Force at Ramstein AB, Germany, for one year prior to coming to the Air Staff. Nominated to fill’s Breedlove’s Air Staff post is Lt. Gen. Herbert Carlisle, who been at the helm of 13th Air Force at JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, since September 2009.
The Air Force overall reduced its size by 120 aircraft in fiscal year 2021, but kept about the same number of fighter, bomber and attack aircraft, according to data supplied by the service. The F-35 fleet saw the biggest increase while the B-1B bomber fleet saw the largest decline.