Hobbins up for his fourth star

Lt. Gen. William “Tom” Hobbins, the Air Force’s senior information technology official, is getting a promotion and returning to his jet fighter roots.

Hobbins has been nominated for his fourth star and commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe, the Allied Air Component Command and the U.S. European Command’s Air Component, all located at Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany. He will also serve as director of the Multinational Joint Airpower Competence Center, a Senate Armed Services Committee staff member confirmed this morning.

The committee plans to vote on Hobbins’ nomination and other military nominees next week. After his nomination leaves committee, the Senate will vote on him and the other nominees in a unanimous consent vote, the staff member said.

Hobbins currently serves as the acting chief of the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, Chief of Warfighting Integration and Chief Information Officer. He assumed those duties in May after serving as the chief of the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Warfighting Integration.

The Air Force decided last year to combine the former offices of the CIO, deputy chief of staff for warfighting integration and deputy chief of staff for installation and logistics. The service made the decision to consolidate policy formulation and execution, acquisition and resources, and workforce governance for business and warfighting IT.