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621st CRW Change of Command

  • Published
  • By Capt. Dustin Doyle
  • 621 CRW
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  The 621st Contingency Response Wing Devil Raiders welcomed a new commander, Wednesday, in a change of command at the Global Reach Deployment Center.

Col. Brian O'Connor, the outgoing 621st CRW commander, handed the reins over to Col. Chris Patterson in a ceremony attended by airmen, soldiers and senior leaders from the joint base.

"It has been an honor and a privilege to join your ranks and experience the last two years with you," said Colonel O'Connor.

"This has been the best assignment of my career. I've been part of a tremendous organization, worked with many incredible professionals, got to witness and have a hand in an array of operations and activities -- some large, some small, all important - and shared in something bigger than all of us."

In his two years as 621st commander, Colonel O'Connor helped evolve the CRW from a unit performing 75 percent training and 25 percent operations, to a unit performing 75 percent operational missions and 25 percent training. Ranging from wartime taskings to humanitarian relief operations, CRW airmen performed missions in more than 40 countries ranging from Afghanistan to Africa, from Bahrain to Haiti.

Brig. Gen. Michael Kim, 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force commander, presided over the event and praised Colonel O'Connor for his efforts in paving the way for Colonel Patterson.

"As you can see, the 621st CRW is no longer an unknown, misunderstood, under-employed wing," said General Kim. "Under Colonel O'Connor's leadership, this wing has become a highly-capable, national asset."

"What the Devil Raiders have done in the past two years has been nothing short of phenomenal....The 621st Contingency Response Wing has made global reach possible time and again under the leadership of Brian O'Connor."

With the change of command, Colonel Patterson steps in as the 621st CRW's fourth commander.

In his previous assignment, Colonel Patterson served as commander of the 373rd Expeditionary Operations Group Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyz Republic. The colonel is a command pilot with more than 4,300 flying hours in the C-141 Starlifter, TG-7A Motorglider, KC-135 Stratotanker, and C-17 Globemater III.

"To stand on this stage and accept the guideon for the 621st Contingency Response Wing feels more amazing than I imagined," said the colonel in his first formal address to the wing.

"To see a warehouse full of people serving their country makes me proud to be an American. To look out upon the faces of so many family and friends, each who played a critical role in me standing here today, is heartwarming. It is the truth when I say, I stand before you a humbled man."

Colonel Patterson also encouraged the Devil Raiders to be proud of their past and future accomplishments.

"Many times, those most involved in the actual accomplishing of the mission are so close to the action that they cannot recognize the significance of their accomplishments," said the colonel.

"Please take a moment and enjoy your accomplishments. Take a moment to thank your family. Take a moment to catch your breath. But take just a moment, because the next challenge is right around the corner."

The 621st CRW is one of two specialized contingency response wings in the Air Force. Responsible for training and rapidly deploying personnel to quickly open airfields in remote locations, the 621st CRW extends Air Mobility Command's ability to deploy people and equipment around the globe.