AFOTEC gets new commanding general Published Oct. 22, 2010 By AFOTEC Public Affairs Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. -- The Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center held a change of command ceremony today at the Mountain View Club on Kirtland Air Force Base. Maj. Gen. David J. Eichhorn assumed command of the Center from Maj. Gen. Stephen T. Sargeant in a ceremony presided by the Assistant Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Lt. Gen. William L. Shelton. General Eichhorn comes to AFOTEC from Edwards AFB, Calif., where he served as the Commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center. As the AFFTC Commander he was responsible for the development, test, and evaluation of manned and unmanned aircraft systems in both experimental and proven aerospace vehicles. He supported the conduct of test and evaluation programs for the Department of Defense, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps. As a certified acquisition professional, General Eichhorn said he "is looking forward to leading AFOTEC and working with the Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition and the entire test community to further acquisition excellence." General Eichhorn entered the Air Force as a distinguished graduate through the Reserve Officer Training Corps in 1976. In earlier assignments he served as an experimental test pilot, and his commands include two flight test squadrons, a test group, a test wing, and the Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tennessee overseeing developmental flight tests on a wide variety of weapon systems. He also served at the Electronic Systems Center as the Vice Commander, where he was previously assigned as Director of Advanced Command, Control and Communications Systems as well as Director of Advanced Aircraft Systems. He has also served as Director of the Aeronautical Enterprise Program Office, Deputy Director of Plans and Programs at Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, and Deputy Program Executive Officer for Aircraft at Aeronautical Systems Center. He also served as the Director of Air, Space and Information Operations, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command. General Eichhorn has flown the B-52D/H, B-1B, F-111 and T-38, serving as an instructor pilot and aircraft commander. He has accumulated more than 5,700 flight hours in more than 40 aircraft types. The Chief of Staff of the Air Force has assigned General Sargeant to be the Special Assistant to the Commander of Air Education and Training Command at Randolph AFB, Texas. AFOTEC is headquartered at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., and reports directly to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force. It is the Air Force's independent test agency responsible for testing, evaluating and reporting results on new systems being developed for Air Force and multi-service use. AFOTEC's mission is to test and evaluate new weapon system capabilities in operationally realistic battlespace environments to provide fact-based, decision-quality data to inform decision makers on a range of accurate, balanced, and timely assessments of effectiveness, suitability, and mission capability. From concept development to system fielding, AFOTEC maintains an operational focus ensuring our Airmen, and often joint and coalition partners, receive the capabilities required to complete their missions more effectively and with less risk.