HILL AIR FORCE BASE — While the commander of Hill Air Force Base’s aircraft maintenance depot is set to leave the state later this year, she’ll go with a pretty nice parting gift.

McCauley von Hoffman was promoted to major general last week, a two-star general and the third-highest ranking an airman can reach. After two years at the helm of one of the largest operations in the Air Force, von Hoffman will leave Hill in July to become the director of Logistics, Civil Engineering, Force Protection and Nuclear Integration at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

The Mississippi native received her commission through ROTC at Vanderbilt University in 1989 and began her Air Force career as a supply and fuels officer, later cross training into aircraft maintenance. She’s had a multitude of different assignments across her 32 years in the service and has also been a prolific writer, publishing work in the Air and Space Power Journal, the Air Force Journal of Logistics and with RAND Corp.

Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Kathryn Johnson, a longtime friend of von Hoffman’s, said the newly christened two-star has lived out her Air Force career with a spirit of volunteerism.

“What makes her different is her service before self,” Johnson said. “She always says ‘send me’ … she’s truly lived it and embodied it and that sets her apart.”

Indeed, von Hoffman’s resume backs Johnson’s assessment up. Von Hoffman, who is married to a former fighter pilot and is the mother of three daughters, has served all over the globe during her career. Her assignments have included multi-year stints in the Middle East, Germany and South Korea. She has served combat tours in the Pacific and Europe and deployed in support of several contingency operations including Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Provide Comfort, Northern Watch, Coronet Oak, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

But it could be argued that her work as head of the Ogden ALC, the Air Force’s main maintenance and repair outfit, has been the most significant. Since 2019, von Hoffman has led a team of more than 8,500 personnel, which includes both members of the military and civilians. The Ogden ALC does maintenance, repair, overhaul and modification of aircraft like the A-10, C-130, T-38, F-16, F-22, F-35 and for the Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile system.

The complex produces electronics, avionics, instruments, power systems, and software for multiple U.S. weapon systems. Von Hoffman’s responsibilities extend to locations in Japan, Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, California, Florida, Wyoming, North Dakota and Montana. The Ogden ALC also directly supports a global supply chain that the Department of Defense and other allied nations depend on for combat operations.

“For all of you who have had a hand in getting this second star on my shoulder, I promise you that I will pay it forward,” von Hoffman said at a recent promotion ceremony. “I promise I will do my very best to take care of our Air Force and our airmen.”

Von Hoffman was the second woman in the Northern Utah military community to get a general-level rank promotion this month. On May 1, Utah Army National Guard member Charlene Dalto was promoted to brigadier general, the first time a woman reached that rank in the Utah ANG’s history.