Head of Air Force Quadrennial Defense Review will stay put until review completed

The head of Air Force’s planning for the Quadrennial Defense Review will stay on the job until the review is completed early next year, then move to a new position at Air University, an Air Force spokesman said Friday.

The selection of Maj. Gen. Steven Kwast to be commander of the Curtis E. LeMay Center for Doctrine Development and Education and vice commander of Air University was announced Thursday. He has served as director of the Air Force QDR since January.

An earlier story said Kwast had been reassigned months before the review was completed, but that new assignment won’t take effect until after the review is completed, the spokesman said.

A command pilot with about 3,300 flight hours, Kwast mostly flew the F-15E Strike Eagle and had served as commander of the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., until 2008. He commanded the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, until 2010 before being assigned to the Pentagon.

As lead on the Air Force QDR, Kwast is tasked with other branch representatives to conduct a comprehensive review of force structure, defense strategy, modernization plans, infrastructure and budget plans.

Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh also announced the assignments of two other officers:

■ Brig. Gen. Duke Z. Richardson to director of logistics and sustainment at headquarters Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Richardson isvice commander of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center.

■ Col. Shaun Morris to the rank of brigadier general and director of the Air Force Security Assistance and Cooperation Directorate at Air Force Materiel Command. Morris is senior material leader, KC-46 system program manager at Air Force Life Cycle Management Center.