BEDKE PROMOTED.Byline: Daily News EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. - The Air Force Flight Test Center commander was promoted to the rank of major general during a base ceremony. Maj. Gen. Curtis Bedke said he was grateful for the opportunity to continue to serve in the Air Force and keep serving the nation. ``This new opportunity means a lot to me,'' Bedke said. ``It allows me to be in this job, which I think is the greatest job in the world, because I love what we do here. I love how the things we do here multiply all across war-fighters everywhere in the Air Force, so it's not only our own special little thing that just counts for us, but it counts for everybody out there.'' Commander at Edwards since September 2004, Bedke is a 1977 Air Force Academy graduate. An experimental test pilot, he commanded the 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron in 1992 and 1993 at Edwards. He also commanded a B-52 operations group, a flying training wing and a B-52 bomb wing. His staff tours include duties as a B-2 Weapons Systems Acquisition Manager at Strategic Air Command headquarters, and assistant deputy director of politico-military affairs with the Joint Chiefs of Staff's Asia-Pacific Division. Bedke also served as vice commander of the 8th Air Force, and inspector general for the Air Combat Command. Before coming to Edwards, Bedke was deputy chief for the Central Security Service and director of the National Security Operations Center A Security Operations Center is a centralised unit in an organisation that deals with security issues. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA; an agency within the US Department of Homeland Security) has implemented Security Operations Centers (referred to as SOC) for the National Security Agency in Maryland. Bedke holds a master's degree master's degree n. An academic degree conferred by a college or university upon those who complete at least one year of prescribed study beyond the bachelor's degree. Noun 1. in aeronautical aer·o·nau·tic also aer·o·nau·ti·cal adj. Of or relating to aeronautics. aer  o·nau and astronautical engineering Astronautical engineeringThe engineering aspects of flight and navigation in space, also known as astronautics. Astronautical engineering deals with vehicles, instruments, and other equipment used in space, but not with the sociological or economic aspects of from Stanford University Stanford University, at Stanford, Calif.; coeducational; chartered 1885, opened 1891 as Leland Stanford Junior Univ. (still the legal name). The original campus was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. David Starr Jordan was its first president. . Gen. Greg Martin, Air Force Materiel Command  Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is a major command of the United States Air Force. commander, officiated at Bedke's promotion ceremony. Recognizing individual accomplishments is one way of showing appreciation, Martin said. ``It's only a small way of saying thank-you to those who are serving so well in our Air Force,'' Martin said. During his two-day visit to the base, Martin said Edwards personnel play an important role in fielding new weapons and equipment for combat. ``Edwards is doing exactly what it needs to be doing. It's wringing wring v. wrung , wring·ing, wrings v.tr. 1. To twist, squeeze, or compress, especially so as to extract liquid. Often used with out. 2. out these aircraft systems so that we can find the glitches before the systems become operational,'' Martin said. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Newly promoted Maj. Gen. Curtis Bedke is pinned with his second stars by his wife, Ina, and Gen. Greg Martin. |
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