President Joe Biden on April 15 nominated Col. Douglas Wickert, commander of the 412th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and Air Force Operating Location Plant 42 for promotion to brigadier general.

Wickert leads a wing of nearly 10,000 airmen, Air Force civilians and contractors in testing and evaluating advanced aerospace systems that represent the nation’s near-future air warfare capabilities, including the new B-21 stealth bomber, Joint Simulation Environment and an array of other sophisticated combat and support aircraft. He is also responsible for the infrastructure and security supporting more than 27,500 defense workers and family members at Edwards and Plant 42.

Wickert took command of Edwards in August 2023 after serving as the aeronautics department head and a permanent professor at the Air Force Academy. He received his Air Force commission from the Academy as a distinguished graduate in 1995 and during the last 29 years has held several commands and served in a variety of technology development and program management assignments. He is a combat veteran with more than 2,000 flight hours in more than 40 different aircraft.

A distinguished graduate of the Naval Test Pilot School, Wickert also holds advanced engineering degrees from MIT and the Air Force Institute of Technology.