Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown administers the Oath of Office to newly appointed Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Slife during a ceremony at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C., Dec. 29, 2023. Slife will become the Air Force’s 41st Vice Chief and most recently served as the deputy chief of staff for operations. (Andy Morataya/U.S. Air Force)

The Air Force’s top two leadership spots have officially been filled after military nominations were held up for months last year due to a Republican senator’s hold.

Gen. Jim Slife received his fourth star and was promoted to Air Force vice chief of staff during a ceremony Dec. 29 at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington. Slife replaces Gen. David Allvin, who was confirmed by the Senate as Air Force chief of staff in November following previous Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown’s promotion to chairman of the Joint Chiefs in October.

Brown and Allvin were confirmed in individual Senate votes to get around Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s 10-month hold on military nominations in protest of a Pentagon reproductive health policy. Tuberville lifted the majority of his holds, which stalled the Senate’s traditional voice-vote process for confirming military promotions in bulk, in early December.

As the Air Force’s No. 2 leader, Slife will work with Allvin to organize, train and equip the service’s 689,000 active-duty, Guard, reserve and civilian forces worldwide, according to an Air Force news release announcing Slife’s promotion.

After being promoted to the position of Air Force Vice Chief of Staff, Gen. James Slife’s family pins his new rank on his uniform during his ceremony at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C., Dec. 29, 2023. (Andy Morataya/U.S. Air Force)

“We stand at the precipice of a different strategic environment,” Slife said at the ceremony. “Gen. Brown called on us to accelerate change. Secretary [of the Air Force Frank] Kendall has empowered us to actually think about … what we need to have to be competitive for the next several decades.”

President Joe Biden nominated Slife for the position in September. Before that, Slife served as the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for operations since December 2022, and as commander of the Air Force Special Operations Command before that.

A command pilot with more than 3,100 flight hours, Slife has spent most of his career in special operations and has also served as vice commander of U.S. Southern Command, chief of staff for U.S. Special Operations Command and chief of staff for United Nations Command and U.S. Forces Korea, the release said.