F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE – Air Force Maj. Gen. C. Donald Alston was named commander the 20th Air Force on Friday, overseeing the nation’s 450 intercontinental ballistic missiles in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming.
The 20th Air Force, part of the Global Strike Command, has headquarters at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne.
Its units include the 90th Missile Wing at Warren, the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., and the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont. It has about 9,000 military and civilian employees.
The 20th Air Force also supports the U.S. Strategic Command, one of 10 unified commands under the Department of Defense.
He is currently assistant to the Air Force chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration at the Pentagon, a job he has held since November 2008.
He is a 1978 graduate of the Air Force Academy. His previous assignments include commanding the 341st Space Wing at Malmstrom.
Alston has also worked as a liaison officer to the House of Representatives and held positions at the Air Force Space Command. He was the spokesman for Multinational Force-Iraq in Baghdad.