Heithold Inducted into Order of the Sword

Nov. 28, 2016

Lt. Gen. Brad Heithold, the former commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, was inducted into the Order of the Sword during a Nov. 18 ceremony at Hurlburt Field, Fla. The Order of the Sword is the highest honor the enlisted force can bestow upon an officer. “You have served our command and specifically our enlisted corps greatly in the most challenging times in our history,” said AFSOC command chief CMSgt. Gregory Smith. “You have led us to a point where we can look into the future, we can see the challenges ahead of us, and yet know we can meet any challenge and win any fight because we’ve had you as a leader.” Heithold led the command from July 2014 until this past July.

Related Content

Thunderbirds to Debut New Performance as Team Returns to a Full Schedule

April 15, 2021
The Thunderbirds will kick off their 2021 season on April 17, debuting an overhauled aerial performance routine following a 2020 air show season largely canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Air Force Demonstration Team will debut the new routine at the Cocoa Beach Air Show in Florida April…

South Carolina Air Guard F-16s Deploy to Saudi Arabia

April 15, 2021
About 300 Airmen and F-16s from the South Carolina Air National Guard’s 169th Fighter Wing deployed to Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, recently for an expeditionary force deployment. The F-16s, deployed to the 378th Air Expeditionary Wing, will “increase defensive capabilities against potential threats in the region,” the wing…

Senators Seek Answers for Deterring Cyber Threats

April 15, 2021
At a hearing following the release of the 2021 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community, Senators pressed U.S. intelligence chiefs on whether the United States is doing enough to deter and respond to foreign governments' hacking activities. U.S. Cyber Command boss Gen. Paul M. Nakasone countered that while…

New General Officer Nominations Announced for Air and Space Forces

April 15, 2021
The U.S. Space Force will get a new two-star general, and several USSF and USAF colonels have been nominated to receive their first star, in a slate of nominations announced April 15. Air Force Brig. Gen. David N. Miller Jr. has been nominated to the rank of major general. He…

Jolly Green II finishes Developmental Test

April 15, 2021
The Air Force’s next combat rescue helicopter, the HH-60W Jolly Green II, concluded 23 months of developmental testing on April 13. Since its first flight in May 2019, a joint Air Force and Sikorsky team has flown more than 1,100 test hours in six aircraft, with the final test focused…

NORTHCOM’s Budget Priority: Longer Warning Time

April 14, 2021
Gen. Glen D. VanHerck's top priorities in the upcoming budget are domain awareness in the form of farther-seeing over-the-horizon radars, followed by submarine detection capabilities and joint all-domain command and control, the commander of U.S. Northern Command told members of the House Armed Services Committee on April 14. Before building…

Biden: ‘It’s Time to End the Forever War’

April 14, 2021
The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan will begin on May 1 and finish before the 20th anniversary of 9/11, to allow the American military time to focus more on global terror and increasing threats from China, President Joe Biden said. During a March 14 address formally announcing the planned end to…

AMC Addressing Lavatory Problems on the KC-46

April 14, 2021
Air Mobility Command is modifying palletized lavatory and galley systems to avoid possible “spillage” as KC-46s take off and land, after issues arose with the system during operations. The Air Transportable Galley-Lavatory is a palletized combination lavatory and galley that provides additional toilets, beverage production, and refrigeration for multiple mobility…