New commander at the helm

  • Published
  • By 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. --  A familiar pair of hands is at the helm of the 28th Bomb Wing.

Col. Gentry Boswell accepted command of the nation's largest combat B-1 wing from the former commander, Col. Kevin Kennedy, during a ceremony June 4 in the Pride Hangar at Ellsworth.

"Leadership and command are a privilege so I am honored to have this opportunity and be at the helm of the 28th Bomb Wing. I look forward to leading Ellsworth Airmen -- it is truly a blessing to be back on base and in the Black Hills community," Boswell said.

Boswell returns to Ellsworth following a year at the Pentagon in Washington where he served as a director in the Air Force Operations Division. He led the directorate responsible for more than $600 billion in department-level programming over the Future Years Defense Plan, served as the executive agent for the Air Force Flying Hour Program totaling more than $10 billion annually, and led the planning and execution of all Air Force joint and flag exercises.

"It was certainly an education working at the enterprise level for the Air Force," Boswell said. "There are unique challenges to planning and executing the programs at the headquarters level that are key to organizing, training and equipping our Airmen for the mission."   

The colonel is a B-1 weapon systems officer with more than 4,500 flight hours, with 500 combat hours flown in missions over the Balkans, the Horn of Africa and Southwest Asia.

Boswell is no stranger to Ellsworth. He has been stationed here previously, totaling more than eight years during his military career, most recently as the vice commander of the 28th BW.

"I am familiar with the base and the mission here that spans the globe 24/7 to defend our nation. The Airmen and assets of the 28th Bomb Wing are always in high demand," Boswell said.

The colonel takes command of the base at a time when its Airmen are heavily engaged in a demanding period with large Air Expeditionary Force deployments. Currently, the Wing is executing 18 consecutive months of B-1 deployments and ongoing MQ-9 operations. Ellsworth Airmen have been deployed heavily in a multitude of global combat operations since the start of Operation Enduring Freedom 14 years ago.

More than 500 Airmen and several B-1 bombers are currently deployed to Southwest Asia in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel and Operation Inherent Resolve in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. Aircrews from Ellsworth are providing critical capabilities such as precision strike, and surveillance and reconnaissance to support military operations in the region.

Airmen in a variety of non-aviation roles are performing a wide range of sortie generation and mission assurance duties. At the same time, 432nd Attack Squadron aviators are flying five combat air patrols daily in support of overseas contingency operations, an operation which flows seamlessly around the clock every day of the year. 

"Sustaining this demanding operations tempo is critical to our nation's defense," Boswell said. "And doing that requires preparing our Airmen, ensuring they have the training and tools to do their jobs, and taking care of their families. There's a lot involved in that equation, but each element is as important as the other."