16th Air Force (AFCYBER) welcomes new commander

  • Published
  • By Matthew McGovern
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas --  Lt. Gen. Thomas Hensley assumed command of 16th Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) from Lt. Gen. Kevin Kennedy, during a change of command ceremony here, Aug. 1.

Gen. Ken Wilsbach, commander of Air Combat Command, presided over the ceremony and welcomed Hensley as the new 16th Air Force commander. He emphasized Hensley’s adeptness that makes him the right leader at the right time.

“There are 123, 16th Air Force locations worldwide, so even though we’re here in San Antonio, the sun does not set on the 16th Air Force,” said Wilsbach. “As we say goodbye to one command team, we have to welcome in another, and those of you who know [Lt. Gen. Hensley], know that we couldn't have picked a better commander to replace Kennedy. If you look at his bio from your program, you'll notice an officer as well rounded and well developed as you could ever imagine for the job that he's about to do.”

With this change of command, Hensley became the third commander of 16th Air Force. He is responsible for information warfare in the modern age. Information Warfare requires integrating: Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance; Cyber Operations, Electromagnetic Warfare, Weather, Public Affairs, and Information Operations capabilities. 

During his first address as the 16th Air Force commander, Hensley underlined the importance for organizational changes necessary to deter and, if needed, prevail in an era of Great Power Competition.

“Right now, as the Air Force goes through re-optimization for great power competition, it’s not certain yet what 16th Air Force will look like in the future,” said Hensley. “In some of the conversations that we’ve been in, it’s getting clearer every day. I want the men and women of the 16th Air Force to know that we have our most senior leaders in our Air Force engaged on this subject. For the 49,000 Airmen we have worldwide, these senior leaders may not know you by your face, they may not know you by your name, but they certainly know what you do.”

Hensley, the previous 16th Air Force deputy commander, received his third star and promotion to the rank of lieutenant general hours before the change of command.

“For the men and women of 16th Air Force and the commanders out here representing all the wings within 16th Air Force, just know, I’m going to bring it every single day,” said Hensley. “Bring it strong every single day to lead the best that I can.”

Hensley also shared his appreciation to leadership for the opportunity, and gratitude for the experience serving as deputy commander, giving him a head start tackling the nation’s high-priority information warfare challenges.

“Thank you for the faith, trust and confidence you’re putting into me as the 16th Air Force commander, we will not let you down,” said Hensley.

Wilsbach also offered remarks about Kennedy’s time leading the first Information Warfare Numbered Air Force.

“I just want to thank [Lt. Gen. Kennedy] from the bottom of my heart for being such an amazing commander through your tenure,” said Wilsbach. “During this time, 16th Air Force stood up the Air Force's information warfare operations center that synchronizes the air component for combatant commanders. You led the longest Cyber Command tenured mission packaging campaign cyber response for Ukraine. They're doing some amazing work.”

Kennedy, who is retiring after 34 years of service, served as commander of 16th Air Force since July 2022.

Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber), headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, focuses on information warfare in the modern age.

Sixteenth Air Force ensures that our Air Force and Nation are fast, resilient, and fully integrated in competition, crisis, and conflict by incorporating Information Warfare at operational and tactical levels, capitalizing on the value of information by leading the charge for uniquely-21st century challenges in the highly dynamic, seamless, and global information domain.