Hornburg and BRAC chiefs announce retirements
By Sam Atkins
Published in News on November 19, 2004 2:00 PM
With the new term for President George W. Bush have come more changes in the nation's capital that will affect the Air Force.
Gen. Hal Hornburg has announced his retirement as Air Combat Command commander.
Hornburg is a former 4th Fighter Wing commander at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. On Wednesday he relinquished command of the ACC and said he would retire Jan. 1.
Lt. Gen. Ronald E. Keys, deputy chief of staff for air and space operations at Air Force headquarters in Washington, D.C., has been nominated to the Air Combat Command commander position, but not confirmed.
Keys is responsible to the secretary of the Air Force and the chief of staff for formulating policy supporting air, space, intelligence, nuclear, counter-proliferation, homeland security, weather and information operations.
It was also announced that the official with the lead role in managing the Base Realignment and Closure process has stepped down from his position, but will still have an advisory role until early next year to help in the process.
Raymond F. DuBois, deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and environment, is resigning for personal reasons.
DuBois visited Seymour Johnson in October, as well as Cherry Point and Camp Lejeune. The purpose of the visit was to see the functions of the three installations, which will be evaluated during the base realignment and closure process.
DuBois' resignation is not expected to affect the BRAC process. DuBois will continue to advise Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on implementing the new National Security Personnel System. He withdrew his nomination that had been pending before the Senate to become the deputy undersecretary of defense for logistics and material readiness.
Phillip Grone, who has worked extensively on BRAC issues, is his top deputy and has already been appointed to replace him. Before coming to the Pentagon in 2001, Grone served as director of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Construction.
DuBois was the Pentagon's director of administration and management, responsible for the Washington Headquarters Services Agency and the $4 billion Pentagon renovation program.
Grone will not take on the Pentagon administration job. A successor to DuBois in that position has not been named.
Hornburg became the ACC's sixth commander in 2001. He was also the air component commander for U.S. Joint Forces Command and U.S. Northern Command.
ACC operates more than 1,200 aircraft, 25 wings, 16 bases and more than 200 operating locations worldwide with 110,000 active-duty and civilian personnel.
Hornburg entered the Air Force in 1968 and has commanded at all levels. He served as 4th Fighter Wing commander at Seymour Johnson from April 1990 to August 1992. He is a pilot with more than 4,400 flight hours.
His major awards and decorations include: Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with "V" device and five oak leaf clusters, Vietnam Service Medal with four service stars and the Southwest Asia Service Medal with two service stars.
His successor, Keys, was commissioned in 1967 and has commanded a fighter squadron, the U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons School, an F-15 wing, an F-16 wing, and the Combat Air Forces Operational Test and Evaluation Wing. He is a pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours, including more than 300 hours of combat time in Southeast Asia.
His major awards and decorations include: Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster and Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.