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Show COWUT rGTH THIOUGH C7C7 P CI lOC'STiCS Genera! McDonald: Customer first n Please see story, Page 5. COLLECTIONS i jl Vol. 45 No. 29 I Uy U LI Hill AFB, Utah D July 26, 1791 , I New air oase group leader 00 6 .5990 gk i takes command by SSgt. Barbara Fisher Hilltop Times staff It took 10 years but the Emorys got their assign- ment to Hill AFB. Col. Steven It. and Peggy Emory had first spied the base years ago when traveling from Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, to a new assignment at RAF Upper Heyford, England. As they rolled over the top of one of the hills traveling east on a winter day, they saw a sign for Hill AFB. That sign, the colonel said, pointed toward majestic purple mountains. Off to their right they saw something that looked like a shining sea. "You could hear the song (America the Beauti- ful)," he said. launched from the base Just then a flight of and the Emorys were sold. "Our eyes were as big as saucers and our mouths were wide open," Emory said. "Peg told me then that there had to be something I could do (to get F-1- 6s assigned to Hill)." Monday, it became official as Emory took over command of the 2849th Air Base Group from Col. William R. Rahter. The Emorys had the assignment they'd been thinking about for years. "We're ecstatic to be here," the colonel said in remarks after receiving his new command from Maj. Gen. Dale W. Thompson Jr., commander of the Air Logistics Center. The colonel said he and his wife had followed the successes of Hill through the years and were "thrilled" with the accolades the base had received. "Every time we'd hear about you that sight would come back to us." As the commander of the 2849th, Emory will serve much like the mayor of a city, being responsible for providing upkeep of facilities and essential services required to support all the various units and missions of the base. Some of the areas falling under his supervision include: civil engineering; security police; transportation; morale, welfare and recreation; and base services. Og-de- n 1 The Air Force's Fighting Falcon was the topic of national and local news media interest this week after an article appeared in Jane's Defense Weekly in London Tuesday. F-1- 6 Jane's said that the operated counother and by the United States F-1- 6s -.- . 1 - Maj. Gen. Dale W. Thompson Jr., commander, Ogden Air Logistics Center, left, Col. Steven presents the flag of the 2849th air Base Group at a change of command ceremony Monday in front of group headquarters, Bldg. 180. The passing of the flag symbolizes Emory's assuming comR. Emory with mand of the 2849th ABG. After the quick transfer of the group's flag from Rahter to Emory symbolizing the official transfer of command, Thompson praised Rahter for his r tenure. leadership of the group during his exthe was a that It command, general said, perienced both peace and war. "Under his leadership, the group processed and mobilized more than 1,300 people in support of Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm," Thompson said, "and they did it without a hitch. Everything yry ' two-yea- j went on time. "Then, when our troops came home, it was the group that met them. They ensured they were greeted with open arms for the patriotic service they had all performed. "Under his leadership, the 2849th has done a magnificent job," the general said. Rahter, who leaves Hill for Warner Robins AFB, Ga., where he will serve as director of inspections Please see Emory, ' aircraft port of more than 2,600 in U.S. worldwide tactical operating forces and 15 foreign countries. was originally designed as The a lightweight, fighter with The airframe specific mission usages. was designed to last 8,000 flying hours (a flying hour starts from the time the jet leaves the ground until it lands). role has changed since its The introduction to the Air Force inventory in 1976 to meet an expanding mission and to take advantage of new technology as it becomes available. This has required modifications be made on the aircraft, some of which have increased the weight of the plane. All of these changes in one way or another add to the stress on the aircraft's frame during flight and affect whether the aircraft will be able to F-1- 6 6 air-to-a- ir Through continual structural inspections, cracks have been discovered, but none are t related. F-16- F-1- F-1- .HW f v a-'- A Col. Steven R. Emory Page 2. F-1- 66 O ICcp!nc f i sofe t fly 99 Sergeant receives jail sentence .. i , Changing hands tries have cracks in their wings because the planes are carrying more safety-of-flighweight and fulfilling more roles than originally intended when the plane was designed more than 15 years ago. Some of those reports also alluded Col. Gary Austin Hill AFB to potential increased maintenance system program manager workload for the Ogden Air Logistics Center, primary depot for the airsystem program craft's modification and repair. Austin, the 6 Hill AFB. "We have been aware of and have manager at Austin and his staff are responsible been repairing minor cracks in the 6 for several years," said Col. Gary for the logistics and engineering sup Trial concludes - U.S. Air force Photot infiiiiiigr siyi staff V..?--- -- - r-- 00 by SSgt. Barbara Fisher Hilltop Times Wfi )5.- - up ; .....I- - 's reach its original goal. - General says training must be constant 8,000-flying-ho- ur "All along," Austin said, "we've been tracking the performance of each aircraft and have been performing inspections and identifying any repairs that will keep the flying beyond the year 2000. "Some of these repairs are done by F-1- 6 local wing maintenance organizations. Others must be done at depot level," he said. The Hill team was aware of the cracking problem mentioned in the media this week. In September 1990, they initiated a joint program with Air Force Systems Command to look at ways to make improvements to the F-16- 's structure to prevent future cracking. "Through continual structural inspections, cracks have been discovered, but none are safety-of-fligrelated," Austin said. "The Air Force ht O Please see A F-- wQtncms ploco Debate continues on combat role 1 6 Page 2. |
