Alaska’s top military official is stepping down.
On Tuesday, following a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Lieutenant General Russell J. Handy will retire after 34 years in the U.S. Air Force. For the last three years of his tenure Handy has overseen Alaskan Command, the 11th Air Force, and Alaska operations for the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD.
Taking Handy’s place is Major General Kenneth Wilsbach, who most recently directed operations at US Central Command, based in Florida, and tasked with overseeing operations across North Africa and the Middle East, including Iraq and Afghanistan.
Wilsbach will be promoted to a three-star general ahead of taking all three appointments under his new command.
Earlier in his career, Wilsbach was a fighter pilot, and served two assignments at Airbase Elmendorf in Alaska between 1998 and 2002.
Zachariah Hughes reports on city & state politics, arts & culture, drugs, and military affairs in Anchorage and South Central Alaska.
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