Lt. Gen. Donna Shipton, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, delivers the commencement address for the Air Force Institute of Technology graduation ceremony at the Dayton Masonic Center in Dayton, Ohio, Sept. 14, 2023. Shipton is slated to be the next commander of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and will soon head to her new assignment after Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R- Ala., said he will drop his hold on most military promotions. (R.J. Oriez/U.S. Air Force)
(Tribune News Service) — The woman slated to be the next commander of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base will soon head to her new assignment.
Lt. Gen. Donna Shipton will be the center’s first woman commander.
Brian Brackens, an AFLCMC spokesman, could not offer a precise date when Shipton was expected to assume command. But he expects the center to have that information soon.
Other officers have been affected by the confirmation holds. In March, President Joe Biden nominated Maj. Gen. Linda S. Hurry for appointment to the grade of lieutenant general, with assignment as deputy commander, Air Force Materiel Command headquarters, also at Wright- Patterson.
However, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., announced his own holds on six nominees, including three Air Force one- and two-star nominees, over concerns “regarding those nominees’ stances or actions relating to divisive diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in the military,” according to a statement from his office quoted by the Military Times. (The Dayton Daily News left a message with Schmitt’s office.)
Among those affected by Schmitt’s holds: Brig. Gen. Scott Cain, commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory, also at Wright-Patt, who has been awaiting his second star.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R- Ala., said he will drop his hold on most military promotions. He had been blocking military promotions for months over objections to a Pentagon policy that pays for service members’ travel to seek abortions.
Tuberville told reporters that he will drop the hold on all promotions except those for four-star generals.
There were some 455 nominations concerning 451 general flag officers awaiting Senate consideration, Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman, said. At least 11 four-star nominees are impacted by continued holds.
It will take time for newly confirmed officers to move to their assigned roles, Ryder said Tuesday.
“You have to consider things like when people can move, where the people that are moving out of the positions are going,” he said, according to a transcript of a press conference provided by the Pentagon. “And so all of that has to be carefully orchestrated and done in a way that enables us to continue to conduct the operations without having significant impact, not only on the mission but also on the individual family members.”
About eight senior officers at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base or with connections to the base had promotions held up due to the holds.
“The ripple effect from these holds impacts more junior officers because they are unable to move up into their new positions,” Jeff Hoagland, president and chief executive of the Dayton Development Coalition, wrote in a Dayton Daily News column last month. “Senior officers can’t vacate their current positions until the Senate confirms their promotions, blocking advancement down the chain of command. These stalled-out junior officers aren’t even counted among the officer promotions on hold.”
Holds imposed by senators do not prevent a floor vote on individual nominees, but that process can be time-consuming.
AFLCMC is responsible for the cradle-to-grave life cycle management of all Air Force aircraft, engines, munitions, and electronic systems.
The previous AFLCMC commander, Lt. Gen. Shaun Q. Morris, was the fourth person to lead the center, which is headquartered at Wright- Patterson.
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