Gen. Jim Slife became the Air Force vice chief of staff at a Dec. 29 ceremony at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, ending the service’s three-month stretch without Senate-confirmed officers in its top two leadership posts. In the fall of 2023, Slife’s promotion to four-star had sat in limbo since September as part of Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s lengthy blockade of over 400 military nominees that ended Dec. 19. Slife, a career special operations pilot, has taken on the role of deputy chief for operations for a year. As vice chief, Slife will help drive new policies to organize, train and equip 689,000 uniformed and civilian employees across the active duty Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. He will join other No. 2 officers in shaping requirements for major acquisition programs as the Air Force tackles its own multibillion-dollar modernization plan.
Slife’s Air Force career started when he earned his commission at Auburn University. He became a decorated pilot with more than 3,100 flight hours and also led Air Force Special Operations Command for more than three years and served as the vice commander of U.S. Special Operations Command. It’s the first time in over a decade that neither the Air Force chief of staff or its vice chief hail from a fighter background. While praised as a strategic thinker who looks to improve airpower overall, Slife has been criticized for seeking change at the expense of military readiness.
