Commander's Farewell Speech, 14 September, 2015

First, I'd like to thank the people who have made this event special. General James, Col. Newberry, Chief Good, I appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to be here. Col Samuelson, you have been wonderful to work for, and truly appreciate your true and honest leadership in the Operations Group. I have been around a long time, and it is refreshing to see excellence in action. To the other Commanders, Deputy Commanders, my fellow Squadron Commanders, men and women of the Air Expeditionary Wing, and especially any and all members of the Mad Mules, past and present, thank you for being here today. To the folks who made this event possible, MSgt, Mullins, my First Shirt, thank you for putting this together, it has been a pleasure working with you. Airman Davenport, that was an awesome rendition of our National Anthem, and I truly appreciate you making this day special. Chaplain DeLuise, thank you for your eloquent and moving blessing.

I would like to thank both General James and Col Dittus for accepting me for this Command, and Col Samuelson for not firing me. Believe me, I've presented plenty of opportunities over the last four months, with three Wing Commanders and four Operations Group Commanders. I just think I've managed to move along before I've worn out my welcome; but you all have made this gig pretty darn easy. 

To my fellow Squadron Commanders, you have been awesome to work with, and despite flunking EE 101, you have renewed my confidence that under YOUR leadership, MY United States Air Force will somehow continue to be strong and thrive, three and four, and five generations into the future. General James, I promised you I was bringing the best and the bravest to execute the Air Tasking Order for this Wing, and I think we've met that challenge. In two and a half months, the Mad Mules have flown 422 sorties, moved 1896 passengers, and 2.7 Million pounds of cargo. We've medivac'd 133 patients and provided the CFACC 1,820 hours of standby alert to support any emergency response need in the Gulf, launching in minimum time on three occasions. That is a tribute to 5-Star maintainers and aggressive, lean forward airlifters.

As I am frequently reminded, I've been in the Air Force a while now. I have found that leadership is very easy if you find the right people, put them in the right positions, and give them their lead. They will surprise you with their initiative and brilliance. I've had two brilliant DO's: Bill Fedorka and Chinky Kochansky. You handled the missions and aircrews like the true professionals you are, and offered sage advise when things got weird. LtCol Dave Bopp ran the C-21 operation like he owned the entire fleet. My ADOs, Schedulers and office staff performed like champs. Intel and Tactics gave the fliers the timely information they needed to make the right decisions to safely execute and complete their missions. AFE provided the equipment that truly does support life in flight, and we couldn't do it without them. 

Finally, my hat is off to these aircrews, who are literally at the tip of the spear... swooping down out of the night into the most austere landing zones in the world, often under fire; you executed with brashness and daring bravado to deliver critical men and material to all aspects of the fight. You ROCK!

I want to thank my wife Laura, and our family for an ungodly amount of support over more than 30 years. You do not fly and deploy as much as I have without their support and tacit permission for one more deployment to "fight the good fight." IF I have succeeded, it's because you enabled it. I love you all.

Finally, to the men and women of this Air Expeditionary Wing, I confidently turn the Squadron over to another set of true professionals. LtCol Ebrecht and his folks will seamlessly continue the mission in our wake. They cannot fail to meet or exceed our performance and will undoubtedly enhance the awesome reputation of the Grand Slam Wing. I wish them all the best.

To all of you:

Dirty-01, OUT!