Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
New commander takes over Air Force Research Lab
Thursday, October 25, 2007 Categories: Military
aviation
Air Force Maj. Gen. Curtis M. Bedke took over the Air Force Research Laboratory from Maj. Gen. Ted F. Bowlds Thursday in a change of command ceremony in the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
It's an important post, not only to the Air Force but to the Dayton region, because the $2 billion research operation is the biggest driver of science and technology in Ohio. AFRL has its headquarters and five of its nine technology directorates on Wright-Pat. The Air Force is just beginning a consolidation of research and training work under AFRL that's eventually to bring 473 military, 315 civilian and a corresponding number of contractor jobs to the Dayton area, according to an AFRL news release. As a part of it, the base will soon see a $320 million construction project for a complex to house AFRL's consolidated Sensors Directorate and the new 711 Human Performance Wing.
Bedke comes from Edwards Air Force Base in California, where he was commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center.
He predicted a smooth transition from Bowlds, who is moving to Boston to put on a third star and command the Air Force's Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base.
“You won’t see me executing any immediate break turns or snap rolls just to prove that I’m the guy," he said, using pilot jargon. Bedke is a former experimental test pilot and B-52 bomb wing commander.
While Bedke's career is steeped in operations, test and evaluation, he declared he's a science geek. “I grew up on (Isaac) Asimov, (Ray) Bradbury, (Robert A.) Heinlein, (and) (Harlan) Ellison," he said. He also holds a master's in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Stanford University.
Under his command, Bedke said AFRL must balance short-term needs with its long-term mission to define the future of airpower. “We have to balance between making sure we give the warfighter what they can use now, but also making sure that we don’t eat our seed corn, that we create the future. I think that’s probably our biggest challenge."
Bedke will need all his test-pilot skills to keep AFRL flying straight and level at a time when a war and the need to replace aging aircraft compete for funding.
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