Air Force staff director tapped to run service’s Indo-Pacific branch

The U.S. Air Force may soon get a new face for its presence in the Pacific.

The Biden administration on Monday tapped Lt. Gen. Kevin Schneider to lead Pacific Air Forces, the branch in charge of organizing, training and equipping American air units from Alaska to Guam. His nomination would bring a seasoned fighter pilot with years of experience at PACAF headquarters to the region as the U.S. looks to stave off Chinese aggression and bolster its own long-range capabilities there.

As PACAF commander, Schneider would ensure that squadrons of fighter and bomber jets, surveillance aircraft and more are ready to be tasked by the larger U.S. Indo-Pacific Command on missions around the region. Around 46,000 troops and civilian staff are spread across Air Force bases in Alaska, Hawaii, South Korea, Japan and Guam.

If Congress approves the move, Schneider would also earn a promotion to four-star general. He currently works as the staff director at Air Force headquarters in the Pentagon.

Before moving to Virginia, he spent six years in leadership positions around the Indo-Pacific, including as chief of staff at PACAF and INDOPACOM and commander of U.S. forces in Japan, according to his official biography.

Early in his career, he also spent several years at South Korea’s Osan Air Base and Japan’s Misawa Air Base, and returned to the Korean Peninsula as the 80th Fighter Squadron commander at Kunsan Air Base in 2003.

He is a 1988 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado.

A career fighter pilot, Schneider has flown more than 500 hours in combat in the F-15 and F-16 fighter jets as part of Operations Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and Inherent Resolve — the U.S. missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

Schneider is a decorated commander who has received the Defense and Air Force Distinguished Service Medals, the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Legion of Merit. He has also earned at least two Bronze Star medals, an award recognizing meritorious achievement in connection with operations against enemy forces.

One Bronze Star was awarded in 2014 after his year in command of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing at Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates. The wing boasts one of the most varied sets of Air Force missions and was a key launching point for the U.S. wars on terror groups in the Middle East and Southwest Asia.

Schneider would return to PACAF headquarters in Hawaii as the U.S. looks to strengthen its long-range strike, maritime and island-hopping capabilities in the region to bolster its own standing and to defend U.S. ally Taiwan against a Chinese invasion.

U.S. officials argue the Chinese military is the top “pacing threat” for American forces, spurring efforts to develop new hypersonic and nuclear weapons, stealthier aircraft and more flexible combat tactics to outrun Beijing’s technological advances. Pacific Air Forces is also part of a recent push to further strengthen ties with Australia, a longtime U.S. intelligence-sharing partner, and to contain other regional threats like North Korea .

The Pentagon has not announced a next assignment for Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, who has served as PACAF’s top officer since July 2020.

Lt. Gen. Scott Pleus is next in line to replace Schneider as Air Force staff director, the Defense Department added Monday. He is currently the deputy commander of U.S. Forces Korea, among other titles.

The Biden administration has also picked Maj. Gen. Laura Lenderman to serve as Schneider’s deputy at PACAF headquarters, as well as for promotion to lieutenant general. She is currently U.S. Transportation Command’s operations director in Illinois.

It’s unclear how quickly the latest slate of nominees may move through the congressional approval process. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., has stalled military confirmations for weeks to protest the Pentagon’s efforts to ensure service members can access reproductive health care after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last year.

Around 200 military officials are currently awaiting confirmation votes in the Senate. None have been confirmed since March 30.

Other Air Force nominees announced Monday include:

Maj. Gen. David Harris Jr., for promotion to lieutenant general as the service’s deputy chief of staff for long-term future planning at the Pentagon. Harris is currently the deputy commander of Air Forces Central at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

Maj. Gen. David Iverson, for promotion to lieutenant general as the deputy commander of U.S. Forces Korea, among other titles. He is currently PACAF’s air and cyberspace operations director in Hawaii.

Brig. Gen. Dale White, who was nominated for promotion to major general in March, is now on the fast track to lieutenant general. He is on tap to become the Air Force’s highest-ranking uniformed acquisition official, the military deputy to the assistant secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics. White currently oversees the Air Force’s portfolio of fighters and advanced aircraft in Ohio.

Defense News Congress reporter Bryant Harris contributed to this story.

Rachel Cohen is the editor of Air Force Times. She joined the publication as its senior reporter in March 2021. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Frederick News-Post (Md.), Air and Space Forces Magazine, Inside Defense, Inside Health Policy and elsewhere.

美国空军在太平洋地区的存在可能很快就会迎来新的面孔。

拜登政府周一任命凯文·施耐德中将领导太平洋空军，该军种负责组织、训练和装备从阿拉斯加到关岛的美国空军部队。他的任命将为该地区带来一位经验丰富的战斗机飞行员，他曾在太平洋空军总部工作多年。美国希望借此遏制中国的侵略，并增强其在该地区远程作战能力。

作为太平洋空军司令，施耐德将确保各中队的战斗机、轰炸机、侦察机及其他装备随时待命，接受美国印太司令部在该地区执行任务的指挥。约有46000名官兵和文职人员分布在阿拉斯加、夏威夷、韩国、日本和关岛的空军基地。

如果国会批准这项任命，施耐德也将晋升为四星上将。他目前在五角大楼空军总部担任参谋主任。

据他的官方传记记载，在移居弗吉尼亚州之前，他曾在印太地区担任过六年领导职务，包括担任太平洋空军和印太司令部参谋长以及驻日美军司令。

在他职业生涯早期，他还曾在韩国乌山空军基地和日本三泽空军基地工作过几年，并于 2003 年回到朝鲜半岛，担任群山空军基地第 80 战斗机中队指挥官。

他是1988年科罗拉多州美国空军学院的毕业生。

施耐德是一名职业战斗机飞行员，曾驾驶 F-15 和 F-16 战斗机参与“南方守望行动”、“持久自由行动”、“伊拉克自由行动”和“坚定决心行动”（即美国在阿富汗、伊拉克和叙利亚的军事行动），累计飞行时间超过 500 小时。

施耐德是一位功勋卓著的指挥官，曾荣获国防部和空军杰出服务勋章、国防部卓越服务勋章和功绩勋章。他还至少获得过两枚铜星勋章，该勋章旨在表彰在打击敌军的作战行动中取得的卓越成就。

2014年，他因担任驻阿联酋阿布扎比达夫拉空军基地第380远征航空联队指挥官一年而荣获一枚铜星勋章。该联队承担着空军最多样化的任务之一，是美国在中东和西南亚打击恐怖组织的重要出发点。

施耐德将返回位于夏威夷的太平洋空军总部，因为美国正寻求加强其在该地区的远程打击、海上和跳岛作战能力，以巩固自身地位并保卫美国盟友台湾免受中国入侵。

美国官员认为，中国军队是美军面临的最大“威胁”，这促使美国努力研发新型高超音速武器和核武器、隐形飞机以及更灵活的作战战术，以超越北京的技术进步。太平洋空军也是近期加强与美国长期情报共享伙伴澳大利亚关系以及遏制朝鲜等其他地区威胁的举措之一。

五角大楼尚未宣布肯尼斯·威尔斯巴赫将军的下一个任命，他自 2020 年 7 月以来一直担任太平洋空军最高指挥官。

国防部周一宣布，斯科特·普勒斯中将将接替施耐德出任空军参谋长。他目前还兼任驻韩美军副司令等职务。

拜登政府还提名劳拉·伦德曼少将担任施耐德在太平洋空军司令部的副手，并晋升她为中将。她目前是美国运输司令部驻伊利诺伊州的作战主任。

目前尚不清楚最新一批提名人选需要多久才能通过国会的批准程序。阿拉巴马州共和党参议员汤米·图伯维尔已阻挠军事任命数周，以抗议五角大楼在最高法院去年推翻“罗诉韦德案”后，为确保军人能够获得生殖健康服务所做的努力。

目前约有200名军方官员正在等待参议院的确认投票。自3月30日以来，尚无任何官员获得确认。

周一公布的其他空军提名人选包括：

提名戴维·哈里斯少将晋升为中将，担任五角大楼空军长期未来规划副参谋长。哈里斯目前是驻卡塔尔乌代德空军基地的中央空军副司令。

戴维·艾弗森少将，获准晋升为中将，并担任驻韩美军副司令等职务。他目前是太平洋空军司令部驻夏威夷的空中和网络空间作战主任。

戴尔·怀特准将三月份被提名晋升为少将，如今晋升中将的进程也进展顺利。他有望成为空军级别最高的军方采购官员，担任负责采购、技术和后勤的助理部长的军事副手。怀特目前在俄亥俄州负责空军的战斗机和先进飞机项目。

《防务新闻》国会记者布莱恩特·哈里斯对本文亦有贡献。

瑞秋·科恩是《空军时报》的编辑。她于2021年3月加入该刊物，担任高级记者。她的作品曾发表在《华盛顿邮报》、《弗雷德里克新闻邮报》（马里兰州）、《空军与太空部队杂志》、《国防内幕》、《卫生政策内幕》等刊物上。