by Master Sgt. Kate Rust. Air Force Space Command Public Affairs
8/17/2007 – PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — Headquarters Air Force Space Command honored its outgoing vice commander Aug. 16 with a Distinguished Service Medal recognizing his service to the command, its people and programs.
Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz, who leaves Aug. 22 to take on his new duties as the Assistant Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, received praise for providing combat forces and capabilities to North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Strategic Command with a combat ready intercontinental ballistic missile force and through a global network of satellite command-and-control, communications, missile warning and launch facilities, according to his citation.
“I am deeply honored and humbled to have served alongside the consummate professionals of Air Force Space Command,” said General Klotz. He thanked the staff for their groundbreaking work for the command as well as the commander for “setting in motion a cultural change in how we think about our business in space and how we resource that business.”
General Klotz served as acting commander of AFSPC from March to June 2006 when the previous commander, Gen. Lance Lord, retired and before the new commander, Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, was confirmed. During this time, he forged a fundamental new relationship with the National Reconnaissance Office, and worked through a remarkably challenging budget year. Among his many achievements, he significantly influenced space combat support, space professional development and budgetary and acquisition processes with his testimonies before Congress.
“There were some huge issues going on at that time,” said General Chilton, AFSPC commander. “You were the right guy at the right time for this command.”
What many people might not realize is the extensive capabilities General Klotz brought with him to the position of AFSPC vice commander. According to his biography, he served as a defense attach at the American Embassy in Moscow, Russia, and was also the Director for Nuclear Policy and Arms Control, National Security Council, at the White House. Among his many career-related academic accomplishments, he also holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in politics from Oxford University, Oxford, England.
“There’s nobody I know in the Air Force, no better strategic thinker than General Frank Klotz, and he’s got the savvy and the skill to know how to deal at the high-powered levels of the highest international negotiations and discussions,” said General Chilton. “Some of the paths and bridges that were entrenched with France, with the British and the Australians are the foundational landmarks that will make a difference in the future for this command.”
