An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Kessel Run welcomes new leadership

  • Published
  • By Richard Blumenstein, Kessel Run Public Affairs

BOSTON (27 June 2022) – A Kessel Run transition and assumption of leadership ceremony was held inside the organization's headquarters, June 27.

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Detachment 12 transitioned to its own division under the Digital Directorate, AFLCMC. The administrative change ensures Kessel Run’s continued success in meeting its mission to develop and deliver war-winning software that gives warfighters the edge they need to win tomorrow’s fights, today.

During the ceremony Col. Brian Beachkofski relinquished command of Kessel Run. Col. Richard Lopez assumed his position as the Senior Materiel Leader. Lopez was previously the Program Manager and Materiel Leader for the United Platform Program and the Director of the LevelUP Code Works software factory. The ceremony was presided over by Lt. Gen. Shaun Q. Morris, Commander of the AFLCMC, and Steven Wert, Program Executive Officer, Digital Directorate.

Beachkofski, who plans to retire from the Air Force in July, reflected on his time at Kessel Run and gave a heartfelt goodbye during a speech as part of the ceremony.

“It is something I can’t be more proud of,” Beachkofski said. “The greatest parts of my career were here. What we have accomplished is simply profoundly different from what I have done the rest of my Air Force career.

“There are some lessons we learned from the last two years. We have been able to open our arms and invite people in from around the country. That has opened up the top of our talent pipeline and brought amazing people to the team, who two years ago would have been excluded simply for the fact of geography,” he said.

Lopez also addressed all in attendance and spoke about his enthusiasm toward his new role as Kessel Run’s Senior Materiel Leader.

“I am humbled to be in the footsteps of the giants who came before me,” Lopez said. “This whole team has one of the most important jobs in the entire United States Air Force and the Department of Defense. The capabilities that you deliver here are critical for delivering operational air power to deter our enemies, and defeat them when deterrence fails.”

Kessel Run is building a scalable software factory to architect, manufacture and operate warfighting systems to function effectively in highly contested environments supporting operations ranging from routine through major theater war. It is composed of seven programs and leading digital transformation by focusing on developing and delivering software solutions centered around Command and Control, also known as “C2,” capabilities.