by Dennis Anderson
special to Aerotech News

EDWARDS AFB, Calif. — The national defense mission conducted at the “Right Stuff” Air Force Base for nearly a century has involved a unique partnership between daring test pilots and knowing flight test engineers — who are sometimes embodied in the same flight suit.

The story of this unique blending of skills, scholarship and courage unfolded on July 29, 2025, at the ceremony when Brig. Gen. Douglas P. Wickert passed the flag of command to his successor, Col. Thomas M. Tauer.

Senior officer presiding at the ceremony in the giant hangar was Maj. Gen. Scott A. Cain, commanding the Air Force Test Center, the overall command which oversees Edwards.

Cain observed that the work at Edwards has been in progress since 1942, in the World War II years before it was renamed for Capt. Glen Edwards, killed in the June 5, 1948, crash of “The Flying Wing.”

From the Norden bomb sight, the early age computer, that put bombs on target over Nazi Germany, to the precision bombing by B-2 Spirit stealth bombers over Iran on June 22, 2025, United States air dominance has been powered by daring and design genius.

“Jimmy Doolittle wanted engineers and pilots to understand each other,” Cain said. Addressing the outgoing commander, Wickert, he added, “‘Beaker’ you and the entire 412th†Test Wing exemplify that spirit.”

Air Force Gen. Jimmy Doolittle was the World War II leader of the “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” bombing raid that was America’s first attack on the home islands of Japan after the Japanese Empire’s surprise attack against Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

The newest bomber in the Air Force arsenal, under development at Edwards, is named the “B-21 Raider” in honor of Doolittle’s Tokyo Raiders. Doolittle himself was a gifted aviation engineer and legendary pilot known as the “Master of the Calculated Risk.”

Throughout its existence, Edwards Air Force Base has marked more first flights (and landings) than virtually any other base on Earth, from the first plane carrying Capt. Chuck Yeager through the Sound Barrier Oct. 14, 1947, through the space shuttle and all the programs in current development.

It was Yeager who came to define the spirit of the “Right Stuff” as the ethos of pilots in the early days of flight test on the way to the astronauts of the early Space Age.

In heralding the change of leadership at Edwards, Cain alternately referred to Wickert as “Beaker,” and Tauer as “Monster,” call signs whose origins are bestowed by fellow pilots, and whose significance is virtually never revealed to anyone outside the close pilot community.

In recognizing Tauer’s arrival as the new 412th Test Wing commander, Cain described him as “eminently qualified — a scholar and a warrior who has been in the combat arena.”

In a ceremony originated by 18th century Frederick “The Great,” the “Soldier King” of Prussia, command of the 412th Test Wing passed from Wickert to Tauer.

The guidon for the unit that runs Edwards Air Force Base passed from Chief Master Sgt. Joshua T. Skarloken into the hands of Tauer for ceremonial change of command. As chief non-commissioned officer at Edwards, Skarloken succeeds the retiring Chief Master Sgt. Justin Stoltzfus.

More than 100 Airmen of Edwards and a similar number of guests and dignitaries attended to render salutes or witness a solemn ceremony that extends the longevity of Edwards as the “Flight Testing Center of the Universe.” Edwards operates as the crucible for Air Force test flight operations with one of the largest areas, and the world’s longest runway.

Cain shared with the Airmen and guests that tests for air combat technology advances have ranged from the Norden bomb sight of World War II up to the advanced technologies that enable a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber to “drop a bomb in a pickle barrel.” He cited the recent Operation Midnight Hammer to inflict destruction on Iran’s nuclear program.

Cain, overseeing operations at Edwards, lauded Wickert for “demonstration that mission success and taking care of people go hand in hand.”

Wickert arrived as commander at Edwards in August 2023 from the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado where he was permanent professor, head of aeronautics and chairman of the engineering department.

The customary two-year command passes to Tauer, who led the 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and logged 200 combat hours in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Awarding the Legion of Merit medal to Wickert, Cain said, “Your leadership in challenging times created something truly special at Edwards.”

In leaving for a new posting, Wickert said the “threats to humanity” that kept him up nights included the possibility of “World War Three.”

The other threats he considers are outside of the control, but as to the threat of another global war, “We do have a say in the work we do at Edwards.”

The most important work achieved at Edwards “is a deterrent in prevention of World War III,” Wickert said. He added axiomatic wisdom of the Roman writer Vegetius Renatus, “If you want peace, prepare for war.”

Remarking on the service of Stoltzfus, Wickert said he truly ran the “Best team of Chiefs (Senior Non-Commissioned Officers) in the Air Force.”

Dignitaries attending included Congressman George Whitesides, state Assemblyman Tom Lackey and Wickert’s predecessor, Brig. Gen. Ret. Matthew Higer, as well as community organizations, the Edwards Civilian Military Support Group.

In handing over command to Tauer, Wickert expressed gratitude to virtually every member of the 27,500 military and family members, and civilian defense workers at Edwards.

“It is my gratitude to have had the opportunity to play a small bit in the history of Edwards, a special and sacred place,” Wickert said.

In its more than 80 years history, the “good weather and secrecy” that brought the Air Force to the base named after test pilot Capt. Glen Edwards, the site has ushered in most of the first flights (and landings) of most of the combat and support arsenal of the Air Force.

In assuming command, Tauer acknowledged a debt to Wickert as mentor and said, “It’s an honor to follow your command.”

Tauer encouraged anyone on the base to take notice of the street signs, with names like Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, who led the “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” legendary bombing raid of World War II.

The new commander said that “340 million Americans are counting on us to deliver capabilities that will deter war. Let’s go to work.”