The Taliban has a new name to fear: Brig. Gen. David Julazadeh.
On July 1, Julazadeh took command of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, based in Bagram, Afghanistan. The wing supports NATO's Resolute Support mission and Operation Freedom's Sentinel.
For the next year, Julazadeh will lead about 1,600 airmen with the wing, which traces its lineage to the "Vulgar Vultures" of the 455th Bombardment Group during World War II.
"I'm proud, honored and humbled to become the commander of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing," Julazadeh said in an Air Force news story. "Our Vulture Airmen do amazing things every day; your sense of duty, loyalty and commitment impresses me."
Julazadeh assumed command from Brig. Gen. Mark Kelly, who is expected to pin on his second star and take command of 9th Air Force at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.
"We're deployed together as one team at the tip of the spear generating, supporting and delivering combat air power every day," Julazadeh said in the news story. "I look forward to getting to know and work with every single one of you."
Julazadeh was commissioned by the ROTC program at the University of Kansas in March 1990. He is an F-16 instructor pilot with more than 2,300 flight hours, including more than 330 hours of combat operations. He became a one-star general in February.
His previous assignments include serving as an air liaison officer with the 1st Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment during Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti. He also commanded the 52nd Fighter Wing in Spangdahlem, Germany, from July 2012 to May 2014 and served as the principal military assistant to the deputy secretary of defense from May 2014 to June 2015.
Julazadeh's military decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Legion of Merit and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
While the combat mission in Afghanistan is technically over, U.S. aircraft can come to the assistance of Afghan security forces on occasion. On June 21, U.S. jets flew a "show of force" mission over Kunduz, a Resolute Support military official told Air Force Times.
