2011 successes, upcoming changes focus of address by base commander

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Nathan Gallahan
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. --  Col. Mark Weatherington, 28th Bomb Wing commander, touched on the many accomplishments of 2011 and provided media with an update on what lies ahead during the State of Ellsworth address here Dec. 16.

The tremendous teamwork during Operation Odyssey Dawn, winning the Fairchild Trophy during the Global Strike Challenge competition, strengthening partnerships with area communities, the upcoming operational readiness inspection and construction projects were key targets during the address.

Weatherington, who has been at the helm of Ellsworth since May 2011, was quick to credit the Airmen under his command for all that Ellsworth has done.

"I'm very proud of what our Airmen do," Weatherington said. "I remind them a lot that they are part of the 1 percent of Americans that get up every day and do something to protect our freedom. We ask them to do some incredible things ... to leave their families for six months or a year at a time; to go to some very dangerous places; to work in some sometimes very difficult conditions overseas ... and they're performing remarkably well. It's something we can all be very proud of."

While Ellsworth Airmen were able to accomplish many first-time feats such as Operation Odyssey Dawn, they were also able to repeat past successes, such as bringing the Fairchild Trophy back to the base for the first time in more than 20 years.

"This is an award that was given out from 1951 until 1992 ... and then they brought it back last year. Ellsworth has only won it one other time in 1989. We won again this year. We're the best bomb wing in the Air Force and we're very proud of that accomplishment. There's been some great work done by our Airmen to bring that trophy back home," he said.

After touching on the accomplishments and activities of the wing in 2011, Weatherington provided an overview of what's on the horizon in 2012.

"The MQ-9 mission is something to get excited about," he said. "It's going to change the way we do business. This mission is going to be 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, 365-days-a-year."

He added that the MQ-9 mission at brings with it the ability to impact everything from humanitarian operations to intelligence gathering and much more, halfway around the globe. "And knowing our Airmen will be executing that mission is pretty neat."

After answering a myriad of questions related to housing privatization, civilian workforce restructuring and the base's continued high operations tempo, Weatherington concluded the State of Ellsworth address by emphasizing his deep appreciation for the continued support the base receives from the surrounding communities.

"Community support is absolutely vital to what we do here at Ellsworth. We cherish the support and relationships we have with our local community. The Black Hills has been very generous, very interested and very supportive of all our activities. I look forward to expanding that partnership as maybe some of our services are reduced in the next few years."