Assuming command of the 88th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Col. Dustin Richards promised Tuesday to establish a “culture of trust and mutual respect,” one where base employees can reach their potential and “live their best life.”
“For the men and women of the 88th Air Base Wing, the message is really just to continue delivering the excellence they have been delivering for so long,” said Richards, the wing's 41st commander. “Keep up the mission.”
Richards assumed command of the wing in a ceremony at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
The event was designated an “assumption of command” rather than a “change of command.” The wing's previous commander, Col. Christopher Meeker, was fired in December and did not participate in the ceremony. Interim commander Col. Travis Pond was on hand and led wing members in giving Richards his first salute.
Lt. Gen. Donna Shipton, commander of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center — soon to be re-designated as the Air Force Air Dominance Systems Center or AFADSC — presided over the ceremony.
Shipton described Richards as a “warrior-scholar,” reading from one of Richards' performance reports, an evaluation that hailed him as an officer with a “bias for action with a commitment to airmen.”
“We can't ask for more than that,” Shipton said.
Richards will command one of the largest air base wings in the Air Force with more than 5,000 Air Force military, civilian and…
