U.S. President Barack Obama has nominated Air Force Maj. Gen. Susan Helms to be commander of 14th Air Force and the Joint Functional Component Command (JFCC) for Space, replacing Lt. Gen. Larry James, who was nominated to be deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance at Air Force headquarters, the service announced Sept. 22.
The nominations come several weeks after the administration tapped Lt. Gen. William Shelton to lead Air Force Space Command, replacing Gen. Robert Kehler, who was nominated to lead U.S. Strategic Command.
As commander of JFCC for Space, Helms will report to U.S. Strategic Command and be responsible for planning and executing military space operations via the Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. She previously was the director of plans and policy at Strategic Command.
