JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, TEXAS -- Brig. Gen. Travolis A. Simmons officially took command of the 19th Air Force during an assumption of command ceremony here July 2, 2026.
Lt. Gen. Clark J. Quinn, commander of Air Education and Training Command, presided over the event, formally welcoming Simmons as the newest senior leader within AETC.
“Brig. Gen. Simmons will not only have a generational impact, but a multi-generational impact, on flying training as the commander to bring the Air Force’s newest advanced jet trainer, the T-7A Red Hawk, to Initial Operating Capability,” Quinn said. “He and his team will build the syllabus and training program that maximizes the T-7's full potential. I can guarantee he is the right Airman at the right time to lead 19th Air Force.”
After formally receiving the 19th AF guidon and assuming command, Simmons addressed the audience and the Airmen he will lead.
“To the Airmen of the 19th AF, you are masters of your craft, responsible for training the next generation of Airmen to fly fix fight and win," said Simmons. You take junior enlisted and young lieutenants and forge them into combat aviators, battle managers, weapons directors, and Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape specialists. You provide our force with its fifth-generation, cross-domain warrior mindset.”
Simmons arrives at JBSA-Randolph following his assignment as the Director of Training and Force Management, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations at Headquarters U.S. Air Force at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.
Commissioned in 1997 as a distinguished graduate of the University of Alabama's Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Simmons earned his pilot wings through the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas.
He is a command pilot with over 2,100 flying hours, holding qualifications in the F-16C/D, F-117A, and F-22A aircraft.