Top Air Force General Retires

A top Air Force commander, Gen. Thomas Bussiere, announced his retirement Tuesday for “personal and family reasons.”

“After much reflection and with a full heart, Barb and I have made a difficult decision to request retirement from the United States Air Force for personal and family reasons,” Bussiere, the head of Air Force Global Strike Command, said in a post on Facebook.

“While I’m stepping away from active duty, my commitment to service remains. I look forward to finding new ways to support our Air Force, our national defense and the incredible people who make it all possible,” wrote Bussiere, who was nominated by the Trump administration to be the Air Force’s vice chief of staff over the summer.

Bussiere has served as Air Force Global Strike Command commander since December 2022.

He was nominated by the administration to be the next Air Force vice chief of staff in July, but Aviation Week reported in early September that Bussiere’s nomination was withdrawn.

The former Air Force vice chief of staff, Gen. James Slife, was fired in February.

Bussiere’s retirement came hours after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth held an extraordinary gathering of top military officials in Quantico, Va., where he announced he was raising fitness standards and overhauling the military’s internal complaint and investigation process.

“If the words I’m speaking today are making your heart sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign,” Hegseth told the admirals and generals at the meeting.

In August, the Air Force announced the service’s chief of staff, Gen. David Allvin, would retire in November after serving two years of his four-year term.

The Trump administration nominated Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, a four-star general and longtime fighter pilot, to be the Air Force’s next chief of staff.

“I am pleased to support the nomination of General Kenneth Wilsbach to serve as the next Chief of Staff of the Air Force,” Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink said in a statement. “He is a combat-tested aviator and has the experience of leading combat forces around the globe. I have full confidence that he will make sure Airmen embody a warrior ethos and are ready to defend our nation and maintain our dominance against all adversaries.”