US Air Force LtGen Jay Silveria took command of the US Air Force Academy from outgoing Superintendent LtGen Michelle Johnson last Friday.

Silveria, a 1985 graduate, is a command pilot with nearly 4,000 hours of flight-time in various aircraft, including T-37 and T-38 trainer aircraft, the F-15E Strike Eagle, the HH-60 helicopter and F-35 Lightning II. He’s flown combat sorties over the Balkans and Iraq and served as vice commander at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

A few days earlier, the local Colorado Springs Gazette (repeated at the Stars and Stripes) covered LtGen Johnson’s four-year tenure in a summative article:

Two months after Johnson took command, congressional budget battles led to a government shutdown…

In December 2013, the academy was rocked by revelations that the Air Force Office of Special Investigations had used cadets as informants…

In the wake of the scandals, Johnson also led an unprecedented public relations effort, spending $2.6 million on outside PR firms…

The latest of what Johnson called “turbulence” came in June when the school suspended four of six members of its Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office…

For the first time in generations, Johnson ordered a rewrite of the school’s curriculum to incorporate more liberal arts classes…

Notably absent from journalist Tom Roeder’s fairly substantial piece is any mention whatsoever of Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, who once claimed he rode herd on the leadership of both USAFA and the Air Force itself. Weinstein’s star has rapidly faded, and he may end up nursing more than a bruised ego, as he and his “charitable” MRFF have essentially been silent this year — and Weinstein has been woefully impotent when he has spoken out.

LtGen Silveria’s arrival marks the return of the combat-tested fighter pilot to USAFA’s leadership role.

For those looking for some kind of obligatory “first,” LtGen Silveria will be the first male USAFA Superintendent to replace a female Superintendent.

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