JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
A retirement ceremony honoring Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and an appointment ceremony for Gen. Mark A. Welsh III took place here Aug. 10, 2012.
Welsh, a 36-year Air Force veteran, wibecame the service's twentieth Air Force chief of staff. He most recently served as the commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe.
His command was responsible for Air Force activities, conducted through 3rd Air Force, in an area of operations covering almost one-fifth of the globe. This area includes 51 countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and the Arctic and Atlantic oceans with a total population reaching nearly one billion people speaking more than 80 languages. He also had administrative control of U.S. Air Forces Africa, providing support, logistics and resources to U.S. Africa Command.
Schwartz will retire after a career spanning nearly four decades. As he left his office in the Pentagon for the final time Aug. 8, he was greeted by more than 200 Airmen and civilians who lined the hallways as a tribute.