Page 16 - Desert Lightning News August 2016

16 August 5, 2016 Desert Lightning News
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214th RG bolts toward future withFacebook.com/DesertLightningNews new commander

Tech. Sgt. Erich B. Smith

162nd Wing Public A airs

TUCSON, Ariz. -- A former vice (Air National Guard photo by Sta Sgt. Gregory Ferreira)
commander for the 9th Air Expedi-
tionary Task Force in Afghanistan Brig. Gen. Phil Purcell, commander of the 162nd Wing, left, passes the 214th Reconnaissance Group guideon to Col. James Thompson as a symbol
assumed command of the 214th Re- of his assumption of command at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base July 9. Thompson’s previously served as the vice commander of the 9th Air Ex-
connaissance Group at Davis-Mon- peditionary Task Force in Afghanistan. Now, as the top o cer for the 214th Reconnaissance Group, he will lead a unit that provides highly sought
than Air Force Base July 9. intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to war ghters abroad 24 hours a day, every day.

Col. James ompson, an Ari- this mission.” airframes, highlighted the relevance istration - everybody putting these
zona native who returns home after ompson’s new assignment of the unit’s mission, pointing to an pieces together that will take this
22 years of active duty service, took incident earlier this year in Kabul, team forward.”
over from Lt. Col. Brian Grasky, comes amid high-demand from when an improvised explosive de-
who served as the interim com- overseas commanders for persis- vice killed scores of Afghan nation- In a separate interview, omp-
mander for the group and will now tent intelligence, surveillance and als within miles of his position. son offered a guiding principle for
be its Operations Support Squad- reconnaissance capabilities. e his Airmen.
ron Commander. unit’s presence extends southward “ ere is an insatiable appetite for
to a newly established Launch and intelligence, surveillance and recon- “Follow the three core values, you
e primary mission of the 214th Recovery Element (LRE) in Ft. Hua- naissance, and that is why we are here.” will do just fine. at’s what we need
RG is to fly overseas intelligence, chuca, Sierra Vista, Arizona, which to do every day,” he said, referencing
surveillance, and reconnaissance trains pilots and sensor operators to e ceremony comes during the the three Air Force core values of
missions using the MQ-1 Predator take off and land the aircraft. 20th anniversary of the U.S. Air “Integrity First, Service Before Self,
in support of combatant command- Force’s designation as the operating and Excellence in All We Do.”
er priorities. e unit flies opera- In addition to the unit’s combat service for the multi-role system, and
tions 24 hours a day, every day. responsibilities in the theater of op- plans to transition from the MQ-1 He also made them a promise of
erations, the Airmen and aircraft at Predator to the MQ-9 Reaper. action and transparency for his ten-
“We stand at a benchmark point the LRE may be called on to support ure at the 162nd Wing.
of the RPA (remotely piloted air- the governor in a variety of scenar- In closing, ompson reminded
craft) enterprise and for the wing,” ios, like providing wildfire imagery the audience that maintaining and “I plan to ‘see, be and do,’” he
said Brig. Gen. Phil Purcell, com- or search and rescue. operating an RPA mission is more explained. “I am going to ‘see’ our
mander of the 162nd Wing, during than just tending to pilots and sen- vision, and ‘be’ that example, work-
the assumption of command cer- ompson, a distinguished grad- sor operators. ing to be the best Airman you will
emony. “Growth and change, chal- uate of the U.S. Air Force Academy ever see. Last of all, we are going to
lenges and opportunities - the 214th and command pilot with over 2,500 “None of this happens without ‘do.’ Let’s stop talking, get out there
is ready for it all, and I look forward hours of flight time in six separate the great support of finance, com- and do it.”
to watching the new heights the munications, medical and admin-
group will achieve, and I welcome
Colonel ompson to the wing.”

Purcell added that while omp-
son’s technical background was im-
pressive, it was his “commitment,
confidence and character that can’t
be deciphered from a piece of pa-
per” that paved the way for him to
be the top officer of the nearly de-
cade-old group.

Airmen, friends and family were
on hand to witness the time-hon-
ored ceremony, complete with the
symbolic passing of a unit guideon
between commanders.

During his speech, ompson
highlighted the forward-thinking
mentality that he hopes will be the
standard for the more than 170 Air-
men serving under his command,
expressing an excitement about the
future of the platform.

“We are going to proceed forward
with more speed... more capability.
We are going to continue to evolve