The Air Force Academy announced Thursday Col. Brandon Tellez will take over as the next commandant of cadets, charged with leading the military training of the aspiring officers. 

Tellez is a former fighter pilot with 300 combat hours and currently serves as the senior executive officer to the Air Force vice chief of staff, according to a news release. In this role, he helps organize, train and equip 689,000 airmen and civilians. 

In addition to a bachelor’s degree in management that he earned as a pre-medical school student at the academy, Tellez holds two master’s degrees, one in business administration and one in national security resourcing strategy.

Tellez will take over from Brig. Gen. Gavin Marks, who is retiring after serving in the role for three years and leading a transition in culture at the academy.  Most commandants serve two to three years, the release said. 

“He kept the academy on a clear course as we reoriented deliberately toward warfighting, elevating standards, expanding training and ensuring our graduates are ready to lead,” Superintendent Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind said in a statement.

Bauernfeind and Marks, both key leaders at the academy, will depart the same year because Bauernfeind asked to retire early. Superintendents typically lead the academy for three to four years. 

Under Marks’ leadership, the academy transitioned away from a “fourth-class system.” 

A 2023 Department of Defense report found the system that didn’t acknowledge freshmen or fourth-class cadets as full members caused unhealthy power dynamics. It also found older cadets were not fully equipped to lead.

The new four-tiered system taught cadets how to be frontline supervisors, team leaders and unit leaders. 

Marks also led a focus on warfighting skills, such as weapons proficiency, small-unit tactics, casualty care and navigation, a news release said.

Through the cadet warfighter instructor course that Marks introduced, upper-class cadets learned to lead, plan, and evaluate training exercises.