20 December 2005
BMD Watch: Gen. Lord leaves Space Command
By MARTIN SIEFF,
UPI Senior News Analyst
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?...
WASHINGTON (UPI) -- Gen. Lord steps down at USAF Space Command
Gen. Lance Lord, the longest-serving Air Force four-star general on active duty, will retire as commander of Air Force Space Command April 1.
For more than three-and-a-half years, Lord has commanded the main offensive nuclear strategic striking power of the United States, the most destructive military force in the world. Since April 2002, he has directed a global network of satellites, communications and missile warning and launch facilities from Peterson Air Force Base. He also oversees the nation's intercontinental ballistic missile force and is in charge of more than 39,700 people who provide support to North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Strategic Command.
Former Air Force Secretary James Roche, in office when Lord took over as the first fulltime Space Command commander, told the Colorado Springs Gazette that Lord had upgraded Space Command to make it "a major partner" of combat commands and Air Force operations in Iraq and Afghanistan by aiding in rapid targeting. He also praised Lord's contribution to ensuring a trained space force.
Lord entered the Air Force in 1969 after graduating from Otterbein College's ROTC program in Ohio. After serving four years of Minuteman II ICBM alert duty, he had several Air Staff and Department of Defense-level strategic missiles jobs and led the Ground-Launched Cruise Missile Program Management Office in Europe, the Gazette said.
Lord commanded two ICBM wings in Wyoming and North Dakota and in California commanded a space wing responsible for satellite launch and ballistic missile test launch operations.
He served as director of plans and vice commander for Headquarters Air Force Space Command. Other posts include commandant of Squadron Officer School, commander of 2nd Air Force and Air University and director of education for Air Education and Training Command. Before coming to Space Command, Lord was assistant vice chief of staff for Headquarters Air Force.
