U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Anthony Cotton \u201986 doesn\u2019t spend much time sitting at his desk. After all, he\u2019s got 33,600 square miles and 11,000 airmen spread out over four states under his command. And nothing makes him more proud than talking with the men and women in his command, be it an Air Force civil engineer sitting on a front-end loader, security forces at the entry gate or crew members maintaining the 450 inter-continental ballistic (ICBM) Minuteman 3 Missiles he oversees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what I live for,\u201d says Cotton, commander of the 20th Air Force, Air Force Global Strike Command and of the U.S. Strategic Command. \u201cI listen to their challenges and their innovative ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And those ideas are critical because, as Cotton says, \u201cnuclear deterrence is the bedrock of democratic existence for the U.S.\u201d Particularly, he says, with the resurgence of what Cotton calls \u201cnation states\u201d such as Iran, Russia and China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe capability that my command has as one important part of the nuclear triad is very relevant in today\u2019s day and age,\u201d says Cotton. \u201cHaving that capability and options gives the president a hedge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cotton took command in November 2015. That\u2019s when he and his wife Marsha moved to Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, and hung his NC State flag outside his house. He reluctantly hung a UNC flag, too. \u201cWe are a house divided,\u201d jokes Cotton, whose daughter Brianna is a Tar Heel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A leader since his days as a resident adviser in Metcalf Hall and as a cadet in NC State\u2019s ROTC program, Cotton began his career in Minot, N.D. He rocketed from that first assignment to the Pentagon, Cape Canaveral, Fla., and elsewhere, collecting accolades along the way. He\u2019s earned the Defense Superior Service Medal and The Legion of Merit, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over his three decades in the service, Cotton\u2019s dedication has never waned and, despite the many moves to different bases, neither has his family\u2019s. His son joined the Air Force and is serving as an intelligence analyst. Cotton and his wife will move again, in the fall of 2017, but he doesn\u2019t know where. But one thing he does know\u2009\u2014 he\u2019ll proudly fly his NC State flag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n