General Fraser takes command of ACC

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Thomas J. Doscher
  • Air Combat Command Public Affairs
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. --  Gen. William M. Fraser III assumed command of Air Combat Command from Gen. John D. W. Corley in a ceremony here Sept. 10.

The ACC commander leads the largest major command in the Air Force and acts as the lead agent for the Combat Air Forces, which includes elements of U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Pacific Air Forces, Air Force Space Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, Air Force Reserve Command, the Air National Guard and Air Force Cyber Command.

General Fraser comes to ACC from the Pentagon, where he served as Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Requirements Oversight Council. He is a former ACC vice commander, serving at Langley from 2005 to 2006.

"There have been changes since I was last here," General Fraser said. "But one thing has remained constant, and that's the strength and dedication of our Airmen in ACC. Every individual in this command, civilian and military - active duty, Guard and Reserve - is critical to our success."

General Fraser, a 1974 graduate of Texas A&M University, is a command pilot with more than 4,200 hours in the T-37, T-38, T-1, KC-135R, B-1B, B-2, B-52 and C-21. 

Commanding at the group and wing levels, he has also served as U.S. Strategic Command chief of staff, the director of operations at Air Education and Training Command and the Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In his speech at the change of command ceremony, General Corley said he was leaving ACC in good hands.

"There is no better Airman to lead you right now than Will Fraser," General Corley said. "A man of integrity, an accomplished aviator and a commander who believes in taking care of his people."

General Corley served as ACC commander since October 2007 and announced his retirement from the Air Force in May.

"After serving the world's greatest Air Force for 36 years, Alice and I are looking forward to beginning the next chapter of our lives," General Corley said. "I am confident future Airmen will continue the legacy of history's most dominant Air Force."

General Fraser said as ACC's role in overseas contingency operations expand, every Airman across the command will be crucial to the success of the mission, and caring for and preparing those Airmen to meet the nation's needs are his highest priorities.

"Our Airmen are proud to serve on the front lines of combat," he said. "And it's important that we take care of them and their families, whether they're in home station or in a deployed location. Because it's not the planes or the platforms - it's the people, the Airmen of ACC that are defining Global Power for America."

Air Combat Command's mission is to provide the primary force of combat airpower to America's warfighting commands. To support global implementation of the national security strategy, ACC operates fighter, bomber, reconnaissance, battle-management and electronic-combat aircraft. It also provides command, control, communications and intelligence systems, and conducts global information operations.