Gen. James Slife Receives Fourth Star, Named Air Force Vice Chief of Staff

U.S. Air Force Gen. James Slife was promoted to a four-star general and appointed Air Force vice chief of staff on Dec. 29 during a ceremony attended by Air Force leaders, including Gen. Charles Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

As Air Force vice chief, Slife will oversee the service’s efforts in organizing, training and equipping some 689,000 active duty, guard, reserve and civilian personnel within and outside the United States. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, a 2023 Wash100 winner, also attended the ceremony.

Slife led the Air Force Special Operations Command and held leadership positions with the U.S. Southern Command, the U.S. Special Operations Command and U.S. Forces Korea before his promotion, Tinker Air Force Base said Tuesday.

Slife’s promotion came weeks after the Senate confirmed Air Force Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh as the head of the U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency. Haugh served as CYBERCOM’s deputy commander and headed the Air Force’s digital and information warfare unit before his confirmation.