JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. —
Media are invited to attend the 87th Air Base Wing and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst change of command at 10 a.m., Thursday (July 25), here.
Col. John M. Wood will relinquish command of the Department of Defense's only tri-service joint base to Col. James C. Hodges during the ceremony.
Hodges, was the commander of the 6th Mission Support Group at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., prior to his assignment here. He is a career civil engineer who has served in numerous positions at the base, major command, joint, multinational and Pentagon levels to include commanding at the squadron and group level. Hodges entered the Air Force in 1991 after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.
His experience includes service as an expeditionary CES commander in Operation Iraqi Freedom and as a joint multi-national staff officer in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
In his new role, Hodges will provide installation support to more than 80 mission partners and be responsible for providing combatant commanders with mission-ready expeditionary Airmen and Sailors in support of joint and combined operations.
Wood, a California native, has been selected for the rank of brigadier general and is being reassigned to Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., as the Deputy Director of Strategic Plans, Requirements, and Programs.
JB MDL is America's premier joint warfighting base. The joint base spans 42,000-continguous acres in Burlington and Ocean Counties and supports a population of approximately 44,000 people who live, work and train here. Active-duty, reserve and guard service members of the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard ensure total force integration by training, supporting and sustaining global contingency operations from the joint base.
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NOTE: Contact the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs Office at (609) 754-2104 or 87.abw.pa@us.af.mil for more information. Media interested in covering the event must contact the Public Affairs office no later than 2 p.m., Wednesday (July 24). Additionally, media must arrive at Wrightstown Gate no later than 8:45 a.m., Thursday (July 25). Media will not be granted access after 9:15 a.m.