Fairchild refueling wing turned over in ceremony
Col. Anthony M. Mauer relinquished command of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing on Thursday to Col. Scott M. Hanson during an outdoor ceremony on the flight line of Fairchild Air Force Base.
Lt. Gen. William Welser III, commander of the 18th Air Force, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., accepted the guidon, or flag of the 92nd Wing, from Mauer before passing it on to Hanson.
“There are only 12 wings in the 18th Air Force, and we fill them all with the best and the brightest,” said Welser, whose command is responsible for all of the Air Force’s air mobility missions.
The event was attended by more than 1,000 Air Force personnel, civilians and dignitaries, including 5th Congressional District Rep. Cathy McMorris and Spokane Mayor Jim West.
Under Mauer’s command, Welser said, the 92nd and its KC-135 air refueling tankers have helped move 2.8 million people and 2.1 billion gallons of fuel since Sept. 11. Put another way, he said, that’s the amount of gas needed for 20,000 NASCAR seasons.
Hanson, who earned his commission in 1984 as a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Officer Training School, comes to Fairchild from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where he has served since July 2004 as vice commander of the 60th Air Mobility Wing, the Air Force’s largest.
He also commanded the 99th Airlift Squadron at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., from February 1999 to July 2001. Hanson has served in several staff assignments, including headquarters, Air Mobility Command and the Air Force Office of Legislative Liaison from June 1997 to February 1999, during which time he served as a congressional liaison in Washington, D.C.
He is a command pilot, having logged more than 3,500 hours of flight time.
Of his new command, Hanson said, “This wing may be tucked away here in the Northwest corner of the country, but it has made its presence known throughout the world.”
Fairchild, he said, has a tremendous reputation not only in the Air Mobility Command, but in the Air Force as a whole. Community support for the base is well-known among his peers.
Hanson pledged to enhance combat readiness of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing and foster pride in Fairchild’s mission.
Attending Thursday’s ceremony were many members of Hanson’s family, including his wife, Rhonda, and their young daughters, Kelsey and Nicole.
Col. Mauer, who took command at Fairchild on Aug. 12, 2003, leaves to become director of operational plans for Headquarters, Air Mobility Command at Scott Air Force Base.
He told the crowd gathered Tuesday in front of a pair of KC-135s that the role of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing in the global war on terrorism could not be overstated.
“The bombings in London make it clear we want to keep this war on terror an away game,” Mauer said on the day a series of explosions killed at least 37 people in England.
He said command of the 92nd was “the best job I’ve ever had,” and relations between Fairchild and the civilian community of Spokane were “the best he had ever seen.”
“There’s a lot of me staying here,” he said, his voice cracking as he ended his speech.
Among those watching Mauer relinquish command Thursday were his wife, Cathy, and their daughter, Julie. The Mauers’ son, David, is attending the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.