Lt. Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach took command of 11th Air Force during a ceremony on Tuesday at JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Wilsbach will also command US Northern Command’s Alaska Command and the Alaskan NORAD Region, taking the reins from retiring Lt. Gen. Russell Handy. Wilsbach, who received his third star in the promotion, previously served as the director of operations for US Central Command.
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.