TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (WMBB) — A new commander is taking charge of the 325th Fighter Wing at Tyndall Air Force Base.
Colonel Gregory Moseley relinquished command of the 325th Fighter Wing to Colonel George Watkins at Friday’s Change of Command Ceremony.
“I’ve been a fighter pilot, I’ve been a commander multiple times and to be taking over as commander for such a large wing with such a large responsibility, is a privilege, it’s an honor and I couldn’t ask for a better place,” Colonel Watkins said.
Colonel Watkins most recently served as the commander of the 56th Operations Group at Luke Air Force Base Arizona.
Now he will be responsible for leading more than 3,000 airmen at Tyndall.
He will play a major role in the $4.9 billion installation rebuild effort, including the introduction of F-35A Lightning II aircraft.
“Colonel Moseley did an amazing job so I’m really just hoping to pick up where he left off,” Colonel Watkins said. “So like I said in my speech, there is a lot of work to be done. We all recognize that. We are going to start a lot more construction phases coming up and I didn’t do any of that work I am just showing up here and so I am going to lean on the team, team Tyndall, the community, and everyone to pitch in and continue to make this place what we all envision it to be, which is the base of the future.”
Colonel Watkins said one of his goals is to keep his team strongly tied to the community.
“I am really excited to be here at a time where things are going to be changing more rapidly and we are going to continue to build out the base and I’m super excited to be a part of that,” Colonel Watkins said. “With COVID on the drawdown I’m looking forward to getting back to normal again and I am really looking forward to being a host here on Tyndall Air Force Base and showing everybody what our airmen are doing and how they are executing the mission.”
The wing also supports more than 22,000 airmen, civilians, retirees and their families.
