New AFCENT Commander, USAFA Superintendent Confirmed

The Senate confirmed a half-dozen Air Force generals to three-star jobs July 16, including a new commander of Air Forces Central and a new superintendent for the Air Force Academy.

The confirmations, which came via an uncontroversial voice vote, set the stage for the officers to take on their new jobs in the coming weeks.

Maj. Gen. Daniel T. Lasica will move up to lieutenant general and take command of AFCENT, the service component for U.S. Central Command. He will also serve as Combined Forces Air Component Commander for CENTCOM, responsible for coordinating air campaigns in the Middle East at a time when hostilities with Iran have started ramping up again.

Lasica will succeed Lt. Gen. Derek C. France, who has commanded AFCENT since 2024 and overseen a period of intense combat in the Middle East. That has included Operation Rough Rider, the campaign against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen; Operation Midnight Hammer, the strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities; and Operation Epic Fury, the largest air campaign in a generation.

Trained as an F-16 pilot, Lasica has spent the past five years at U.S. European Command, but has flown combat missions in the Middle East in support of operations Southern Watch and Enduring Freedom. He has twice commanded fighter wings.

Maj. Gen. Paul D. Moga, commander of 3rd Air Force within U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, will pin on a third star and take charge of the Air Force Academy, succeeding Lt. Gen. Tony D. Bauerfeind. Moga is well acquainted with USAFA, having graduated from there in 1995 and served as Commandant of Cadets, the school’s No. 2 leadership post, in 2021-2023. He is an F-15C and F-22 pilot.

In addition to Lasica and Moga, the Senate also confirmed:

Lt. Gen. David R. Iverson to be deputy commander of Pacific Air Forces
Maj. Gen. Larry R. Broadwell Jr. to get a third star and be deputy commander of Air Combat Command
Maj. Gen. David J. Sanford to move up a rank and be director of the Defense Logistics Agency 
Brig. Gen. Jason D. Voorheis to jump two ranks and become commander of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center 

The new crop of three-stars join Lt. Gen. Daniel H. Tulley and Maj. Gen. David G. Shoemaker, who were confirmed by the Senate to new roles a month ago.

Tulley, who is staying at the three-star level, will soon take over Air Mobility Command, succeeding Gen. John D. Lamontagne, who has become Air Force Vice Chief of Staff. Shoemaker, who will move up a rank, is set to become the deputy commander of U.S. Forces Korea and the head of the 7th Air Force.

Also on July 16, the Pentagon announced that President Donald Trump has nominated Air Force Maj. Gen. Bradford R. Everman to become a lieutenant general and the next commander of the 1st Air Force, which includes Air Forces Northern and Air Forces Space, and the continental U.S. region of NORAD.

Bradford is currently a special adviser to the dual-hatted commander of U.S. Northern Command and NORAD. Prior to that, he was the Assistant Adjutant General for the New Jersey National Guard and the commander of the New Jersey Air National Guard. He flew F-16s for eight tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.