Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman issued on Tuesday a Royal Decree appointing Deputy Minister of Defense Prince Khalid Bin Salman as Minister of Defense. Prince Khalid Bin Salman was appointed deputy minister of defense in February 2019. Prior to this, Prince Khalid served as the Saudi Ambassador to the US from April 2017 until February 2019. During this time, Prince Khalid helped usher in a new era of Saudi-US relations, strengthening the existing ties between the two nations. Before serving as the ambassador, Prince Khalid was an advisor in the Saudi Embassy in Washington, and at the Ministry of Defense in Riyadh. Earlier in his career, he was an F-15 pilot and tactical intelligence officer in the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF). During his time at RSAF, Prince Khalid flew more than 50 combat missions as part of the international coalition campaign against Daesh (so-called IS) in Syria, and as part of Operations Decisive Storm, and Renewal of Hope in Yemen. Prince Khalid was awarded medals including: South Shield Medal, the Battle Medal, the Excellence Medal, and the Abdullah's Sword Medal. Prince Khalid graduated from the King Faisal Air Academy in Riyadh, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in RSAF. He received his initial pilot training at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas and advanced training at Columbus Air Force Base in Columbia, Mississippi. He also studied advanced electronic warfare in France. — SG
