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New commander joins AFRL

  • Published
  • By Erin Caylor
  • Air Force Research Laboratory Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio, (AFMCNS) --  Maj. Gen. Ted F. Bowlds officially assumed command of the Air Force Research Laboratory Jan. 9 during an appointment of command ceremony at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force's Modern Flight Hangar in Dayton, Ohio.



Gen. Bruce Carlson, commander, Air Force Materiel Command, presided over the afternoon ceremony and handed over the AFRL flag to the newly-appointed, fourth commander of AFRL. A reception welcoming General Bowlds to the lab was held immediately following the event in the Wright-Patterson Club and Banquet Center.



As commander of AFRL, General Bowlds will lead an AFRL staff of more than 9,500 people and manage more than $3 billion of the Air Force's science and technology budget. He will be responsible for the research and technology development of nine AFRL directorates and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.



"My first priority as commander is to the men and women of AFRL, to ensure they have the resources they need to do their jobs, that they are taken care of, both professionally and personally, and most importantly, that every individual's voice is heard," said General Bowlds.



General Bowlds comes to AFRL after serving as the deputy for acquisition, Aeronautical Systems Center, where he assisted the ASC commander and program executive officer for Aircraft Procurement and Modernization. He was responsible for supporting the management of more than 50 major programs, including modernizing and upgrading existing fighters and delivering the F-22A Raptor, in addition to executing an annual budget of $18 billion.



Since his commissioning from the Reserve Officer Training Corps in 1975, General Bowlds has had a diverse career to include assignments as a flight test engineer on the F-117 Nighthawk, an avionics program manager on the B-2 Spirit, bomber branch chief at the Pentagon, chief of Advance Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile development in the system program office, and as commander of Rome Laboratory in Rome, N.Y.



In the past eight years, General Bowlds has served as the deputy director of Global Power Programs with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition at Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington D.C., and as the program director of the C-17 System Program Office here. Prior to his previous position at ASC, General Bowlds was the program executive officer for Airlift and Trainers at Headquarters U.S. Air Force.



General Bowlds' distinguished awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal; Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster; Defense Meritorious Service Medal; Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters; Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters; Air Force Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster.