At a ceremony at Hurlburt Field Friday, June 28, Lt. Gen. Jim Slife took command of Air Force Special Operations Command.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein, presided over the ceremony where Slife took over for Lt. Gen. Brad Webb, who will go on to serve as the commander of Air Education and Training Command in the coming weeks.
“When it came time to pick someone for AFSOC’s continuing legacy, Lt. Gen. Slife was the obvious choice,” said Goldfein. “He brings with him the expertise to take this command to new heights. As the United States Special Operations Command vice commander, he ensured our special operations forces had the resources they needed to get the mission done.”
Also present at the ceremony was U.S. Army Gen. Richard D. Clarke, commander of USSOCOM. Clarke spoke about Slife’s leadership abilities.
“He is the perfect man at the perfect time for this critical position,” said Clarke. “He set an example for all of us to follow. Your dedication to our nation and its great warriors has left a profound impact on all of us. You are going to continue to keep AFSOC on its global scale and foster the culture of there is a way – we find it.”
Slife’s Air Force career spans 30 years. Many of those years were in AFSOC.
He served as an MH-53J instructor pilot, 20th Special Operations Squadron director of operations, 27th Special Operations Group commander, and the 1st Special Operations Wing commander.
Before Slife assumed command, Webb offered comments about his own time in AFSOC.
“I am extremely proud of all of the competence and character I have seen over these past three years,” said Webb. “Our Airmen in AFSOC exemplify the Air Force core values. I just want to say thank you to everyone here for all you have done.”
AFSOC's mission is to present combat-ready forces to conduct and support global special operations missions. The command consists of highly trained, rapidly deployable Airmen, conducting global special operations missions ranging from precision application of firepower, to infiltration, exfiltration, resupply and refueling of special operations forces' operational elements.
Slife inherits a command with approximately 20,800 Air Commandos worldwide. He is now the 12th AFSOC commander.
“These Airmen here today – we’ll talk about them as legends,” said Slife. “We have Airmen wearing Air Force Crosses and Silver Stars. These are outstanding Airmen. I will serve them with the humble dedication they deserve.”