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WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Michael E. Langley was confirmed by the Senate on Monday to be appointed to the rank of General and will be promoted to his next rank in a ceremony in Washington, D.C. this Saturday.

Langley’s promotion will mark the first time a Black Marine had served as a four-star general in the 246-year history of the Marine Corps. At his promoted rank, Langley will serve as the commander of U.S Africa Command (AFRICOM) in Stuttgart, Germany, and will command all U.S. military forces in Africa.

A full-spectrum combatant command, AFRICOM is responsible for all U.S. Department of Defense operations, exercises, and security cooperation on the African continent, its island nations, and surrounding waters. The area of responsibility consists of 53 African states, more than 800 ethnic groups, over 1,000 languages, vast natural resources, a land mass of 11.2 million square miles (three-and-a-half times the size of the U.S.), and nearly 19,000 miles of coastland. AFRICOM began initial operations Oct. 1, 2007, and became fully operational Oct. 1, 2008.

Langley is a native of Shreveport, Louisiana and graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington. He commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in 1985 as an Artillery Officer. Langley has commanded Marines at every level from platoon to regiment, serving in Okinawa, Japan and Afghanistan.

As a General Officer, Langley has held billets including Deputy Commanding General for II Marine Expeditionary Force, Commanding General for 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Commander for Marine Forces Europe and Africa, Deputy Commanding general for Fleet Marine Force Atlantic, and Deputy Commander for Marine Forces Command and Marine Forces Northern Command.

Lt. Gen. Langley’s formal military education includes the U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Warfare School and College of Naval Command and Staff. He holds multiple advanced degrees including a Master’s Degree in National Security Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.

^{— Sources and photos}^:^{Headquarters Marine Corps}^and^{U.S. Africa Command}

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DAYTON, OH—The Department of the Air Force (DAF) is creating the first Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) led University Affiliated Research Center (UARC). This is also the first DAF UARC. The UARC’s core competencies will focus on advancing the deployment of tactical autonomy for DAF missions. The success of this effort is built on a strong partnership between the DAF, USD(R&E), USD(A&S) and USD(P&R) under the overarching guidance of the Secretary of Defense.

BACKGROUND OF THE PROGRAM

HBCUs graduate 30 percent of African American STEM professionals, but receive less than .05 percent of DOD research funding. HBCUs consistently produce high caliber STEM talent able to compete for advanced degrees at top academic programs. More than one third of African American STEM PhD holders earned a bachelor’s degree from an HBCU while 88 percent of these PhD holders receive PhDs from non HBCUs.

(Left) Courtesy photo: Department of Education

This is clear evidence that untapped potential to address National Security imperatives resides at HBCUs but it is unavailable to the DAF due to historical inequities.

INTENT OF THE PROGRAM

This initiative will enable the DAF to establish and maintain essential research and development capabilities to advance the field of Autonomy and deliver operationally relevant autonomy for national security requirements. Desired outcomes are to:

Advance the field of Autonomy by focusing on key DAF operational imperatives.
Grow and diversify the available pool of Scientists and Engineers to support the DAF and grow organic technical excellence.
Increase capacity accessible to the DAF by fostering HBCU R1 Research Classification.
Seed a unique ecosystem of small and large businesses around the UARC to further the above outcomes.

The UARC will be competitively selected through a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) made available soon to industry and academia. It will be based on a consortium model with a Lead HBCU Institution and additional performer institutions, serving under a consortium framework. The DAF Chief Scientist (AF/ST) will be the UARC sponsor with a Management Office responsible for UARC implementation and oversite; and an Executive Steering Board (ESB) which will be populated with members from DoD community partners. The UARC award period will be 5 years with 5 option years at $12M per year. The DAF is leading the investment with $8M per year with additional annual contributions of $2M yearly each from USD(R&E) and USD(A&S).

^{— Source and cover photo: Air Force Research Laboratory}

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