Trio of Air Force Generals Nominated for Third Stars

A trio of Air Force general officers have been nominated for a third star and new jobs, the Pentagon announced Sept. 8. 

Two of the three—Maj. Gen. Kenyon K. Bell and Maj. Gen. Brandon D. Parker—are slated to join the Air Staff at Headquarters Air Force. If confirmed, Bell would become the deputy chief of staff for logistics, engineering, and force protection, and Parker would be the deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration. 

Maj. Gen. Robert D. Davis, meanwhile, would be triple-hatted as the commander of U.S. Northern Command’s Alaskan Command, the Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Region, and the 11th Air Force. 

Bell is currently the director of logistics in the A4, the directorate he is nominated to lead. He was previously the commander of the Ogden Air Logistics Complex and director of logistics and engineering at Air Force Global Strike Command. A maintenance officer by trade, he has commanded maintenance squadrons and groups, as well as the 72nd Air Base Wing at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.; and the 82nd Training Wing at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. 

As the potential A4, Bell would be tasked with overseeing a maintenance enterprise straining to keep the Air Force’s aging fleet in the air. Air Force Secretary Troy E. Meink has cited readiness as a top concern, and the recent reconciliation package passed by Congress included billions of dollars to modernize maintenance depots and buy spare parts. 

Parker is currently director of global operations at U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees America’s nuclear forces. A B-52 aviator, he commanded a bomb squadron at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., and a bomb wing at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. He also had a stint as chief of staff for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, the campaign against the Islamic State group. 

As the A10, Parker would help with the new B-21 bomber and the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile programs, as well as the B-52 modernization upgrades. Sentinel in particular has suffered major cost and schedule overruns and is currently being restructured. 

Davis is currently director of operations for NORTHCOM and was director of cyberspace operations for the command before that. An F-15 and F-22 pilot, he also spent time as vice director of operations at NORAD and as squadron and wing commander at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, where the 11th Air Force is based.