The person overseeing more than 87,000 employees at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and across the world is changing. Lt. Gen. Duke Z. Richardson takes over from Gen. Arnold W. Bunch, Jr. as commander of Air Force Materiel Command Monday.
Materiel Command is in charge of "installation and mission support, discovery and development, test and evaluation, life cycle management services, and sustainment of virtually every major Air Force weapon system," according to a release.
"Air Force Materiel Command is a very large and diverse command," adds Derek Kaufman, public affairs specialist. "It's one of the nine Air Force major commands. We have a workforce of 89,000 uniformed and civilian airmen, and we're responsible for outfitting the Air Force with its weapons systems — what we need in order to deter conflict and, if needed, fly, fight and win."
Richardson comes to Wright-Patt from the Pentagon where he served as military deputy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. Just prior to Monday's event he'll be promoted to a four star general during a private ceremony.
Richardson enlisted as an avionics technician in 1983 and went on to earn an electrical engineering degree. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in Sept. 1989. Richardson first came to Wright-Patt in 1997 as part of the F-15 System Program Office. He has served in the Aeronautical Systems Center and Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson, including as AFLCMC vice commander, among various positions.
The 9 a.m. ceremony at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is closed to the public but will be livestreamed.
