Brig. Gen. Robert Labrutta, the commander of the 502nd Air Base Wing and Joint Base San Antonio in Texas, will be the next commander of the 2nd Air Force.
The 2nd, located at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi, is an Air Education Training Command unit that oversees technical training at several bases.
The Air Force previously announced in February that Labrutta had been selected for promotion to major general.
Labrutta's three-year tenure at the 502nd and Joint Base San Antonio was marked by tragedy earlier this month. Pararescue student Technical Sgt. Steven Bellino shot Lt. Col. William Schroeder, a squadron commander at the 37th Training Wing at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland April 8 before committing suicide.
Labrutta expressed his sorrow for their families that day during a news conference about the shooting, after a base lockdown had been lifted.
"This morning, we received one of those calls that you never want to receive," Labrutta said.
Labrutta has also been director of manpower and personnel for U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, and commander of the 72nd Air Base Wing at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma.
Stephen Losey covers personnel, promotions, and the Air Force Academy for Air Force Times. He can be reached at slosey@airforcetimes.com.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
