{"id":39563,"date":"2024-05-17T19:35:04","date_gmt":"2024-05-17T19:35:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/05\/17\/air-force-special-operations-boss-tapped-to-run-service-academy\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:20:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:20:43","slug":"air-force-special-operations-boss-tapped-to-run-service-academy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2024\/05\/17\/air-force-special-operations-boss-tapped-to-run-service-academy\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force special operations boss tapped to run service academy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Air Force special operations boss Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind has been nominated to lead the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bauernfeind\u2019s selection by President Joe Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/nomination\/118th-congress\/1755?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22bauernfeind%22%7D&#038;s=2&#038;r=1\">on Tuesday<\/a> comes fewer than 18 months after he took over as the head of Air Force Special Operations Command \u2014 an unusually brief tenure for a top officer of an Air Force major command.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2023\/09\/19\/old-is-new-again-as-air-force-special-ops-branch-revamps-training\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/230105-F-UB655-0580.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Old is new again as Air Force special ops branch revamps training<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">&quot;The intent, as we\u2019re looking at all of our pipelines, is what can we establish as &#039;basic mission qualified&#039;?&quot; Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI am humbled by the nomination to be the 22nd superintendent of our academy,\u201d Bauernfeind said in a USAFA release. \u201cThe opportunity to develop warfighters, leaders of character and quality, and critical thinkers for our Air Force and Space Force is an honor. I look forward to building on the legacy of Lt. Gen. Clark and all prior superintendents as we ready our future officers to lead and win in uncertain, complex and contested environments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 1991 USAFA graduate, Bauernfeind spent the first part of his career as a pilot, slipping troops and equipment into combat zones on the MC-130J transport aircraft and the MQ-9 attack drone before amassing more than a decade of experience in senior<b> <\/b>leadership roles at special ops organizations around the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. Special Operations Command is \u201cextremely proud that the Air Force nominated Lt. Gen. Bauernfeind as the next Air Force Academy superintendent,\u201d SOCOM spokesperson Col. Allie Weiskopf said Friday. \u201cHe is exactly the right person to lead the next generation of Air Force officers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The nominee to replace him, Brig. Gen. Michael Conley, was tapped to make an uncommon jump from one-star to three-star general in order to fill the seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Conley has served as AFSOC\u2019s operations director at Hurlburt Field, Florida, since July. The decorated helicopter and tiltrotor pilot earned his commission from the Air Force Academy in 1996, going on to hold leadership and staff roles across AFSOC, U.S. Space Command, Air Mobility Command and the Joint Staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prior to his current role, Conley\u2019s most recent job within AFSOC was commanding the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt from 2018 to 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBrig. Gen. Conley was nominated as the Air Force special operations commander because he is the most qualified officer with significant experience in special forces and integrating tactical units, joint operation centers and inter-agencies,\u201d an Air Force official said Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The transition comes as Air Force special operations leaders have pushed for years to reorient the community to succeed in future conflicts that are expected to move faster, require more stealth and deception, and prioritize digital attacks over traditional roles like calling in airstrikes on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bauernfeind served as U.S. Special Operations Command\u2019s vice commander from 2020 to 2022 before taking over as AFSOC commander that December. He succeeded Gen. Jim Slife \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/03\/14\/air-force-special-ops-chief-says-its-time-to-embrace-new-missions\/\" target=\"_blank\">who spearheaded the organization\u2019s modernization efforts<\/a>, drawing criticism from traditionalists \u2014 at AFSOC after the four-star was promoted to serve as Air Force vice chief of staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Air Force special operators are in the midst of bringing on a new fixed-wing aircraft, dubbed the OA-1K, to fly armed overwatch missions in support of counterterrorism operations. The new fleet is slated to enter the inventory through 2030, though U.S. Special Operations Command in its fiscal year 2025 budget signaled plans to buy fewer than the expected 75 aircraft due to resource constraints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tensions have periodically flared between the Air Force, SOCOM and lawmakers who, over the past 15 years, have pushed for a new aircraft as a modern, affordable solution for America\u2019s enduring counterterror fight, while at other times<b> <\/b>questioning why a possibly vulnerable plane is needed at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force command has also sought to rethink the role of combat diving in Air Force operations and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2023\/08\/14\/air-force-considers-training-changes-across-all-special-ops-jobs\/\" target=\"_blank\">update other aspects of training<\/a> to reflect the needs of modern warfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AFSOC is now in the midst of returning its CV-22 Osprey fleet to the air following a fatal crash off the coast of Japan that killed eight airmen in November and prompted the U.S. military to ground hundreds of Ospreys for months. The Pentagon believes a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/air\/2024\/03\/08\/v-22-osprey-fleet-will-fly-again-with-no-fixes-but-renewed-training\/\" target=\"_blank\">mechanical failure caused the accident<\/a> but has not publicly revealed which component was at fault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If confirmed by the Senate, Bauernfeind will succeed Lt. Gen. Richard Clark, who joined the academy in 2020. There, Bauernfeind would become the latest three-star general to shepherd the four-year university as it expands its offerings to students looking to join the Space Force, tries to curb the number of sexual assaults among cadets, looks to continue the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/college-football\/story\/_\/id\/38679119\/air-force-best-team-colorado-best-service-academy-team-20-years\" target=\"_blank\">recent success<\/a> of its NCAA Division I football team, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">USAFA graduates earn a bachelor of science degree and a commission as a second lieutenant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Clark, a bomber pilot and nuclear operations official who became USAFA\u2019s first Black superintendent, oversaw the gradual return of more than 4,000 cadets to in-person classes amid the coronavirus pandemic \u2014 and dealt with the fallout of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/04\/14\/air-force-academy-expels-22-cadets-for-2020-cheating-scandal\/\" target=\"_blank\">cheating scandal<\/a> that became one of the most widespread spates of academic misconduct in the school\u2019s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLeading the academy has been an amazing experience, and I know that our academy is in great hands with Lt. Gen. Bauernfeind,\u201d Clark said in a release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He plans to retire in June and will begin a second career as head of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2023\/11\/16\/air-force-academy-boss-hired-to-run-college-football-playoff\/\">College Football Playoff<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>This story was updated May 20 at 10:55 a.m. ET to include comments from Bauernfeind and Clark and to clarify initiatives underway within Air Force Special Operations Command.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bauernfeind\u2019s nomination to run the U.S. Air Force Academy comes fewer than 18 months after he took over as Air Force Special Operations Command boss.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":72074,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":67,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","home"],"primary_category":"your-military"}}},"categories":[101,24,16,26,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3392],"class_list":["post-39563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-air-force"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"D2ZBFDSACFFCHPF5OS5YNGAUUE","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2024\/05\/17\/air-force-special-operations-boss-tapped-to-run-service-academy\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Air Force special operations boss tapped to run service academy - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bauernfeind\u2019s nomination to run the U.S. Air Force Academy comes fewer than 18 months after he took over as Air Force Special Operations Command boss.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Air Force special operations boss tapped to run service academy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bauernfeind\u2019s nomination to run the U.S. Air Force Academy comes fewer than 18 months after he took over as Air Force Special Operations Command boss.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2024\/05\/17\/air-force-special-operations-boss-tapped-to-run-service-academy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Air Force TImes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-17T19:35:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T21:20:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rachel S. 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