Air Force Times reports that “surrounded by his wife, family and friends, Gen. Mark Welsh bade a tearful goodbye to the Air Force in his retirement ceremony Friday.”  

“The Air Force’s 20th chief of staff was saluted by Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, and his son, Marine 1st Lt. Matt Welsh, during the ceremony in a massive hangar at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. An A-10 Warthog and an F-16 Fighting Falcon — two of the aircraft Welsh flew — were on display in the hangar, in tribute to his days as a command pilot.”  

“Welsh became emotional during his speech to the gathering — especially when speaking about the airmen he spent four decades serving alongside.”