In an unusual arrangement, Sakura capped her near 24-year Air Force career with an at times emotional retirement ceremony immediately after the change in leadership.
Maj. Gen. Robert P. Otto, commander of the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency, said Prupas takes over “at a critical and turbulent time in our nation’s history.”
Otto chose the new commander to lead NASIC, which has about 3,100 employees and a more than $300 million budget at Wright-Patterson.
“I’m super excited for the opportunity to command here,” said Prupas, a 22-year Air Force career officer. “Being brand new to the mission here, I have a lot to learn.”
He served most recently as commander of the Air Force Technical Applications Center at Patrick Air Force Base on the east coast of Florida. NASIC analyzes foreign air and space threats to the nation and its allies, providing intelligence assessments to everyone from the president to military leaders in Afghanistan and members of Congress.
The Air Force agency’s intelligence findings were used most recently in the allied offensive in Libya that led to the toppling of dictator Moammar Gadhafi, and NASIC analysts provided data analysis on the North Korean ballistic missile threat, Otto said.
“Obviously, there’s a whole lot of things NASIC does that we can’t talk about in this forum,” he told the audience.
In her farewell, Sakura lauded the airmen who served at the agency and the Miami Valley for its “care for your neighbor culture ... that is the epitome of service before self.” She and her husband Joel, a retired Air Force officer, will remain in the area, said NASIC spokesman James Lunsford.
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