Pioneering Air Force Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost handed the reins of U.S. Transportation Command to Gen. Randall Reed on Friday at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., ending 36 years of service.

Van Ovost, promoted in August 2020, is one of the first 10 women to reach the four-star rank, and the longest serving of the four on active duty.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin presided over the event and praised the command, singling out Van Ovost.

“When crisis strikes, the ability to move comes first, [and] when America calls, TRANSCOM moves out,” Austin said according to a Department of Defense news release. “You know, we’ve asked a lot of you over the past three years. You have delivered. And you have made history.

“Now, this kind of success doesn’t just happen. It’s the direct result of the skill and dedication of the men and women of this command and [the leadership] of Gen. Jackie Van Ovost.”

Van Ovost is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and a command pilot with more than 4,200 hours in more than 30 aircraft, including the C-32A, C-17A, C-141B, KC-135R and KC-46A, according to her Air Force bio.

“Over your distinguished career, you have been an outstanding pilot, an outstanding mentor and an outstanding leader,” Austin said.

“You’ve always been at home in the sky. But getting there wasn’t easy. As you have said, you’ve always tried to make the path wider — with more opportunity, and with fewer barriers.

“And you have always had a message for women in uniform, and that message is: ‘Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it,’ ” Austin said. “Every time you encountered an obstacle, you kept at it.”

Austin awarded Van Ovost the Defense Distinguished Service Medal. The accompanying citation highlights Van Ovost’s major contributions to the security of the United States, and notes, “Through new legislation, strategic defense policy and military transformation initiatives, she has accelerated Transcom’s decision advantage for years to come.”

Her decorations and awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster and the Bronze Star Medal with oak leaf cluster.

Prior to her current position, Van Ovost served as the commander of Air Mobility Command.

During his remarks, Austin listed some of TRANSCOM’s recent achievements:

•Over the past 30 months, TRANSCOM delivered over $21 billion in weapons to Ukraine to help it defend itself. The command also surged forces to Europe to reinforce NATO allies.

•Since the Oct. 7, terrorist assault on Israel by Hamas, prompted TRANSCOM to move forces into U.S. Central Command to deliver security assistance to help Israel defend itself and deliver critical humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

•Last summer during Exercise Mobility Guardian 23, TRANSCOM worked with allies and partners across the Indo-Pacific region in an effort involving 70 cargo and refueling aircraft from seven nations.

•This spring, cargo aircraft moved an Army Typhon missile battery from Washington state to the Philippines, 8,000 miles away in just 15 hours.

Reed, the 15th commander of TRANSCOM, graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1989. During his career, he has held a variety of joint, headquarters and base-level positions, including assignments in strategic airlift, special operations air refueling, and joint logistics spanning Operation Desert Storm to Operation Allies Refuge. He also served as the Senior Defense Official and Defense Attaché in Ankara, Turkey.

“No matter the crisis, no matter the hour,” Reed said, “you can depend on the men and women of U.S Transportation Command for one simple reason: Together, we deliver!”

TRAMSCOM’s workforce totals 120,000 military and civilian personnel worldwide in three service components: Air Mobility Command, Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, and the Military Sealift Command — along with one joint subordinate command, the Joint Enabling Capabilities Command. Transcom stood up in 1987.