Maj. Gen. Robert McMurry, formerly vice commander of the Air Force Space Command’s Space and Missile Systems Center, has been named chief of the Air Force Research Laboratory.
Col. Mark Baird, special assistant to the commander of the Air Force Material Command, will succeed McMurry as SMC’s vice chief and will be promoted to brigadier general, the Defense Department said in a release published Friday.
AFRL leads research and development efforts and integration of warfighting platforms for aerial, space and cyberspace forces.
SMC oversees the acquisition, testing, maintenance, sustainment and deployment of military satellite constellations and other space systems for DoD.
Prior to SMC, McMurry spent two years as director of space programs at the office of the assistant secretary for acquisition at the Air Force and one year as director of security assistance mission in Iraq as part of the U.S. Central Command.
Baird previously served as director of SMC’s space superiority systems directorate before he became commander of the Air Force Installation Contracting Agency.
He has held various acquisition roles within the service branch, including procuring contracting officer, program manager and contingency contracting officer.
