LANCASTER – Brig. Gen. Arnold W. Bunch Jr., commander of the Air Force Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, will present an update about the development and testing of the base’s current aircraft programs at the 2013 Business Outlook Conference.
The annual event, sponsored by the Antelope Valley Board of Trade, will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 22, at the AV Fairgrounds.
As the commander of the center, Bunch directs the unmanned and manned aircraft systems and research and experimental aerospace vehicle programs undergoing flight testing and evaluation, as well as the Air Force Test Pilot School.
After graduating from the Air Force Academy in 1984, Bunch completed undergraduate pilot training at Columbus Air Force Base, Miss., and B-52 Combat Crew Training School at Castle AFB, Calif. Next, he served operational assignments as an instructor, evaluator and aircraft commander for B-52s.
Edwards is quite familiar to the general, who has spent nine different years in various assignments at the base. In 1992, he graduated from the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards; he conducted developmental testing in the B-2 and B-52, and served as an instructor in each aircraft there until 1995. Then in 2000 he was assigned as the commander of the 419th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards for two years, and between 2006 and 2008 he commanded the 412th Test Wing.
Before becoming commander of the Air Force Center at Edwards in June 2012, Bunch was the commander of the Air Force Security Assistance Center, Air Force Materiel Command at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio.
During his long career, Bunch earned a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering at California State University Fresno and a Master of Science degree in national security strategy at the National War College, Ft. Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
The 2013 Business Outlook Conference keynote speaker will be J.R. Martinez, an American warrior who overcame severe wounds he suffered in Iraq to become an iconic national figure. In 2011, Martinez and celebrity partner Karina Smirnoff won ABC’s 13th season “Dancing with the Stars” competition.
The speakers’ lineup also includes economist Bill Watkins, executive director of the Center for Economic Research and Forecasting at California Lutheran University, and Craig Jelinek, CEO of Costco and graduate of Antelope Valley High School. Another local speaker will be Walter S. Woltosz, whose Lancaster-based Simulations Plus Inc. is internationally known for augmentative communication systems for persons with severe disabilities, including Stephen Hawking, acclaimed astrophysicist.
Individual tickets are $135 for members and $150 for non-members. Tables for eight are $1,080 for members and $1,200 for non-members. For tickets and information, contact the AV Board of Trade office at 661-942-9581 or e-mail teri@avbot.org.
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