The White House has picked a fighter pilot with Pacific mileage and stateside command cred to run the Air Force. Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach has been nominated to become the next Chief of Staff of the Air Force, succeeding Gen. David Allvin, who plans to retire near the start of November. Multiple outlets reported the nomination on September 29 and September 30. The choice puts a combat-tested commander with deep Indo-Pacific experience in the seat that shapes the service’s budget fights, force design, and day-to-day readiness.
I congratulate Gen. Wilsbach on his nomination to be our next Chief of Staff. I wish him all the best & trust he will continue the momentum and advocate for the best interests of our Airmen, today’s readiness, and modernizing our force for the future fight. https://t.co/fweALsV35J
— General David Allvin (@OfficialCSAF) September 30, 2025
What the Chief of Staff Actually Does
The Chief of Staff is the senior uniformed officer in the Air Force. The job is to organize, train, and equip the force and to advise the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council, and the President as a member of the Joint Chiefs. The position carries a statutory four year term and is filled by presidential appointment with the advice and consent of the Senate. By law, the Chief works under the authority and direction of the Secretary of the Air Force.
Why Wilsbach Fits
Start with the resume. Wilsbach commanded Air Combat Command at Joint Base Langley Eustis, the major command that develops and fields the conventional and information warfare forces that make up the Combat Air Forces. Before that, he ran Pacific Air Forces, the air component for Indo-Pacific Command, responsible for Air Force operations across half the globe. He is a command pilot with more than 6,000 flight hours and 71 combat missions in Operations Northern Watch, Southern Watch, and Enduring Freedom. That mix of continental-scale force generation and theater-level command is exactly what the job demands during a modernization cycle that covers everything from Collaborative Combat Aircraft to munitions stockpiles.
Early Life and How He Joined
Wilsbach came up through Air Force ROTC at the University of Florida, where he commissioned in 1985 as a distinguished graduate. He earned his pilot wings in 1986 at Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas, also as a distinguished graduate. The path reads like a classic fighter pilot’s climb. Instructor in the F-15. Weapons and tactics chief in Japan. Test work at Tyndall. That early spread of operations, test, and tactics set the foundation for the command track that followed.
Education
The new nominee’s education portfolio is deep and focused on warfighting. He holds a Bachelor of Science in broadcast communication from the University of Florida and a Master of Aerospace Science from Embry-Riddle. He completed the USAF Fighter Weapons Instructor Course at Nellis. He also earned a Master of Science in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval Command and Staff College and a Master of Arts in National Security Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Senior leader programs at Harvard and the Center for Creative Leadership round out the list.
Air Force Career Highlights
Wilsbach has commanded at every level. Squadron command at Elmendorf. Wing command at Eglin and Kadena. Numbered Air Force command in Alaska and later Seventh Air Force in Korea while serving as deputy commander of United States Forces Korea. He ran operations at Central Command. He led the 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force in Afghanistan. In 2020, he pinned on four stars and took command of Pacific Air Forces, then moved to Air Combat Command in 2024. The through line is fighter aviation and joint warfare at scale.
Gen. Wilsbach is a thoroughbred fighter pilot with nine tours in the Indo-Pacific—the central theater in the 21st century. Few—if any—leaders can match his operational knowledge of China, North Korea, and the dynamics of the Pacific region.
MORE: https://t.co/2KDo7pbefq pic.twitter.com/qiQbWeivvw— Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies (@MitchellStudies) September 9, 2025
What the Air Force Secretary Is Saying
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink signaled last week that a nomination was imminent, telling reporters the department would not be without a chief as Allvin departs. Earlier this year, in his own confirmation process, Meink pressed for faster innovation and a service focused on lethality and readiness. His message frames the job Wilsbach is walking into. Move fast on modernization. Keep the force trained and supplied. Tighten the shot group in the Pacific.
What Happens Next
Nomination triggers the standard confirmation pathway. The Senate Armed Services Committee receives the nomination, schedules a hearing, and votes to report the nominee to the full Senate. The full chamber then votes to confirm or reject. Upon confirmation, Wilsbach would be sworn in and take his seat on the Joint Chiefs. The statute sets the term at four years and places the Chief under the authority of the Secretary of the Air Force. The appointment does not grant operational command of forces in the field. Combatant commanders maintain that authority.
If the Senate confirms him, Wilsbach arrives with a pilot’s hands, a planner’s map, and a commander’s ledger.
He has run the Air Force’s Pacific portfolio and the stateside machine that feeds it.
The service is trying to buy the future while flying the present. That is a knife-edge. He has spent years on it already.
If confirmed, he’ll set the pace for the Air Force and then cover the tab.