388th Fighter Wing greets new commander

  • Published
  • By Andrea Houck, By Mary Lou Gorny
  • 388th Fighter Wing Public Affairs, Hilltop Times editor
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah --  The 388th Fighter Wing welcomed a new commander during a Change of Command ceremony April 7 at Hill Air Force Base.

Col. Scott "Chemo" Long assumed command of the nearly 2,000 personnel assigned to the 388th FW and will also be responsible for the operational direction of 500 Reserve maintainers and operators in the 419th Fighter Wing.

During the ceremony, Long commended the past leadership of the outgoing 388th FW commander, Col. Scott Zobrist, who received the rank of brigadier general later that day. During his remarks, Long highlighted the fighter wing's complex mission results in a high operations tempo with the most aggressive flying hour program in the Air Force.

"This nation counts on the 388th Fighter Wing's men and women to rise above the fray and devise unique solutions to solve wicked problems -- that's what distinguishes us as Airmen -- we have a higher calling to serve our nation to keep it free," said Long.

Long went on to set his expectations for the Airmen and civilians of the 388th.

"We will meet and exceed all Air Force standards, (in both) operations and maintenance. We will become the finest and most accomplished wing in the Air Force," said the colonel.

Officiating the ceremony was Lt. Gen. Glenn Spears, 12th Air Force commander. During his remarks, the general said, "The Air Force picked another great leader."

Spears noted the 388th FW recently sent missions to the Afghanistan area of responsibility. "There were two recent deployments to Afghanistan by the Airmen of the 388th Fighter Wing," he said. "During those deployments they flew thousands of hours and executed more than 250 precision strikes against enemy forces. Those successes overseas begin with success at home, and it's been a Total Force success here at Team Hill."

Spears also highlighted Col. Long's experiences as a group commander serving in the expeditionary forces in Afghanistan.

"Many of you have served with him, deployed at Bagram, where he led as the 455th Expeditionary Operations Group commander," said Spears.

"He is no stranger to leadership or to the F-16. While Commander, 455th Expeditionary Operations Group at Bagram, he commanded nearly 800 Airmen across 11 combat squadrons there, flying 10 different types of aircraft in support of our coalition efforts in Afghanistan. During his tour as the Expeditionary Operations Group commander he was responsible for nearly 17,000 combat sorties and almost 6,700 coalition air medical evacuations to support our troops and coalition members, and he led from the front, personally flying almost 70 combat sorties as the operations group commander."

During the ceremony, Spears and Long noted some challenges on the horizon, which include rapidly changing world conditions affecting mission areas and budgets at home.

During his farewell remarks, Zobrist thanked his family, the community, and the wing's dedicated reserve Airmen who serve both in their civilian jobs and in the military. He praised their accomplishments and the lessons he learned while working with them.

The new commander, Col. Long concluded the ceremony by commenting on the future of the 388th FW.

"We will succeed because of the fine men and women of the 388th Fighter Wing."