Gen. David Allvin, the Air Force’s No. 2 officer, is the frontrunner to become its next chief of staff. Lt. Gen. Jim Slife, the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for operations, is in line to become Allvin’s right-hand man. If nominated by Biden and confirmed by the Senate, Allvin and Slife would take over the third-largest branch of the armed forces, a nearly $180 billion portfolio spanning around 689,000 uniformed airmen and civilians. U.S. Transportation Command boss Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost could still be in the running if Biden seeks to interview her.
Pacific Air Forces boss Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach was recently nominated to lead Air Combat Command. Arnold Punaro, a defense consultant and retired Marine Corps two-star general, believes that presidents don't always follow the recommendations of the DoD as to who for a particular position. Allvin, a 1986 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, began his career as a cargo pilot in the C-12F Huron and C-141 Starlifter while stationed in Washington state and Germany. He changed tack to become a test pilot in 1994, flying the C-17 Globemaster III and C-130J Super Hercules airlifters.
He hoped to parlay his test pilot experience into a job as an astronaut but decided it wasn't the right time to join NASA. General Allvin has been a general officer for 10 years, accumulating over 4,600 flight hours in nearly a dozen airframes. He has risen through multiple strategy and planning roles at the Pentagon, Air Force headquarters, U.S. European Command and the United Nations. After Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, he drew up a new war plan for EUCOM.
Allvin is a well-read, professorial leader with the self-discipline and Washington know-how to make an impact. He is the Air Force's vice chief of staff and plays a central role in shaping the service's budget and managing its acquisition programs. He seeks out insight across and outside of the federal government and is secure enough in his own perspective to respectfully debate others. His leadership ensured more Air Force priorities were included in the Defense Department's budget requests. The Air Force has had a new chief of staff, Gen. William Slife, since December. He has a wealth of Pentagon experience but has less operational command experience than predecessors like Brown and Goldfein. He has spearheaded a new group to rethink recruiting policies and professional development initiatives, and mentored generals and other staffers. He has also cultivated a close relationship with Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and works well with Slife, a former helicopter and drone pilot. It is the first time in more than a decade that neither the Air Force chief of staff nor its vice chief hail from a fighter background. The Air Force is nominating Lt. Gen. Scott Pleus, a career fighter pilot, to be its new chief of staff. He will need "sharp elbows" to fight for the service's interests in budget and strategy debates and convince the public of its value. He will also play a key role in reversing the Air Force's struggle to recruit and retain airmen. Allvin believes he has more to give to solve those problems.