84th CSW acting director retires from Air Force after 26 years

  • Published
  • By Lee Anne Hensley
  • Hilltop Times staff
"I'm leaving the Air Force after 26 1/2 years. I have had an incredibly blessed career," said Col. Michael Holbert, former acting director of the 84th Combat Sustainment Wing.

Holbert had his official retirement ceremony June 18 at Club Hill among the company of friends, family and current and former Air Force leaders, such as Maj. Gen. (retired) Kevin J. Sullivan and Ogden Air Logistics Center Commander Maj. Gen. Kathleen Close. All congregated to celebrate Holbert's successful and various career.

"I started out in the munitions area doing munitions development as an engineer at Eglin Air Force Base, (Fla.)," where he also met his wife, Angela, Holbert recalled. "I've been on the flight line up at Minot Air Force Base, (S.D.), as a maintenance officer watching B-52s and KC-135s take off. I've worked on missile defense systems as part of an Office of the Secretary of Defense staff position. I've worked on global positioning systems in the sustainment realm, I've been all over the United States and I've never been overseas. Yet I felt that I contributed immensely to all of our Air Force and all service members stationed throughout the world and that we were team members in their mission."

Variety and change followed the colonel to his assignment at Hill Air Force Base more than four years ago.

"During my brief four years here, I've seen the wing stand up as a brand new wing about a year before I arrived, and I've seen it grow and mature, receive an outstanding unit award, an outstanding in an Operational Readiness Inspection, receive numerous center, command and Air Force-level awards, seen our direct support to our warfighters and allies as we continue to fight the other contingency operations around the world, and seen a lot of changes in the wing," Holbert said. "I came to the wing about four years ago, when the wing was known as the 84th Munitions Sustainment Group. During my time here, that office symbol changed to the 784th Combat Sustainment Group. Then we incorporated the 75th Munitions Maintenance Group into the 784th CBSG, which doubled the size of the group and added a lion's share of military. With that, I moved up to the deputy wing under Ernie Parada, then Ross Marshall, as directors. During the time that Mr. Marshall was director of the 84th CSW, we had the formation of the Global Logistics Support Center. Half of the wing departed and formed the 748th Supply Chain Management Group. When Mr. Marshall departed to be Air Force Materiel Command A4 deputy director, I moved up to be the acting director."

After June 18, the 84th CSW fell under the command of Col. Scott Jansson, commander of the 508th Air Sustainment Wing.

"Last fall we started an organizational change request process that would have had the 84th Combat Sustainment Wing migrating almost perfectly into the 508th Air Sustainment Wing," Holbert explained. "Through a series of events earlier this spring, the AFMC commander, General Hoffman, determined that he would adjust what would be moved into the ASWs, not just here at Hill but at all three ALCs. He wanted to pull some product support that was presently located in the Air Force global logistics support center and move it back into the air logistics centers. So the OCR was pulled back and we've been redoing it."

The current OCR is undergoing the approval process now and more changes will be in the wing's future. "Only when the OCR is officially approved will the organizations under the 84th CSW be renamed and the 84th CSW itself will be inactivated. They are staying alive and well until that package is approved, and should it not be approved, we'll just pick back up and go from there," Holbert said.

In the meantime, Holbert has confidence in the 84th CSW's interim leader. "Col. Jannson has been here for almost three years and he is very familiar with the wing and I've been doing a lot of cross-communication with him. He is familiar with the people and with our mission at this juncture. Col. Jannson is an incredible leader and he is well-on for taking the reigns and not missing a beat."

As for Holbert's future, he says he "will not be far from supporting our American warfighters.

"I'll be at Fort Belvoir, Va., where I will be a teacher and a consultant with the Defense Acquisition University there. My hope is that I will get to see the people who do procurement activities as part of our sustainment role here. I will get to shake their hands, look them eye to eye and make sure all is well in the Air Force."

Holbert's colleagues believe his new career fits into his principles.

"He is across the board a top leader who took every opportunity to learn," Close said at Holbert's retirement ceremony. "Those of us who had the opportunity to work with Mike know how much he treasures and respects the academic environment."

At the retirement ceremony, Holbert was awarded the Legion of Merit award for outstanding service as deputy director and acting director of the 84th CSW and received his official orders for retirement of active duty service in the Air Force, effective Oct. 1.