Trump nominates new commander of Air Force Materiel Command

President Donald Trump has nominated Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch Jr. to become commander of the Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Bunch currently serves as military deputy at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition at the Pentagon. The nomination must be confirmed by the Senate.

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If confirmed, Bunch will direct the AFMC enterprise, which oversees 80,000 employees and manages a nearly 460 billion budget annually. The command is in charge of eight Air Force installations nationwide and is charged with developing, acquiring, modernizing and sustaining Air Force weapon systems across their life cycle.

The command includes six centers, including acquisition product centers, depot maintenance facilities, global logistics and supply chain wings, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

Bunch is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. Bunch has served in a number of leadership roles in the weapons development, acquisition, and test communities.

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Bunch succeeds Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, who retired in September after more than 40 years of commissioned service. Pawlikowski was the AFMC’s second female leader and only the third female four-star general officer in Air Force history.

In late August, Lt. Gen. Robert D. McMurry Jr. was named as interim commander of AFMC. Date for an assumption of command ceremony has not yet been set.

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