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New Superintendent Taking Command Of US Air Force Academy

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) — A new superintendent is taking command at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

Maj. Gen. Jay B. Silveria will succeed Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson in a ceremony Friday. Johnson is retiring after four years.

Silveria has been nominated for promotion to lieutenant general, the required rank for the job.

He is a 1985 graduate of the academy. His previous assignment was deputy commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command. He was also deputy commander of the Combined Air Force Air Component, Central Command, Southwest Asia.

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Cadets listen as US President Barack Obama speaks during a graduation ceremony at the US Air Force Academy's Falcon Stadium June 2, 2016 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. / AFP / Brendan Smialowski (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Silveria has nearly 4,000 hours of flight time including combat missions over the Balkans and Iraq. He served as vice commander at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

Aircraft he has piloted include the F-15E and F-35 fighter jets and the HH-60 helicopter.

(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) 

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