Photo By Master Sgt. Minnette Mason | Col. Scott McLaughlin (left), 446th Airlift Wing commander, speaks with Airmen after...... read more read more
By Veronica Sandate Craker
Northwest Guardian
JOINT BASE LEWIS MCCHORD, Wash. - Colonel Scott McLaughlin officially took command of the 446th Airlift Wing in September, but an Oct. 4 assumption of command ceremony on Joint Base Lewis-McChord symbolically sealed the deal.
Brig. Gen. John C. Flournoy, commander, 4th Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, March Air Reserve Base, Calif., introduced McLaughlin to the Airmen of the 446th AW, inside Hangar 9 on McChord Field. The commanders’ chairs were set up in front of a C-17 Globemaster III with Mount Rainier dominating the horizon behind them.
“Colonel Scott McLaughlin is an accomplished leader, warrior and true gentlemen,” Flournoy said
McLaughlin replaced Col. Bruce Bowers, who led the 446th AW from July 2011 to August 2014, before retiring to North Carolina.
The 446th AW is the only Air Force Reserve flying unit in the state. There are nearly 2,400 men and women assigned to the wing.
McLaughlin is no stranger to working on a joint base. His previous duties included an assignment as deputy commander of the 433rd Airlift Wing Operations Group at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.
McLaughlin said the biggest difference between the two installations is that JBLM is “Army led.”
“So I am looking forward to meeting our joint partners on the Army side and learning more about the functional relationships that we have between the active duty, Reserve, Guard and Army components,” McLaughlin said.
More recently, he served as operations group commander of the 349th Air Mobility Wing at Travis Air Force Base, Calif. from April 2013 to Sept. 2014.
In 1986, McLaughlin entered the active-duty Air Force through Officer Training School. He joined the Air Force Reserve in Dec. 2000.
Flournoy said McLaughlin’s expertise and experience make him the “perfect choice to lead the men and women of the 446th.”
McLaughlin said he needs three things from service members to fulfill his role as commander: honesty, accountability and mutual respect.
“These requirements are non-negotiable,” McLaughlin said.
He asked that his subordinate leaders “respect and listen to the people you lead” and to never doubt their abilities.
While McLaughlin makes the trek to the northwest from sunny California, he is no stranger to the area and its wet weather. He was born in Medford, Oregon and earned his bachelor's degree from Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon, in 1983, and a Masters of Business Administration from City University in Bellevue, Washington, in 1997.
“I’m familiar with the Pacific Northwest, and I am excited to be back,” McLaughlin said.
| Date Taken: | 10.04.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.21.2014 16:26 |
| Story ID: | 145701 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US |
| Hometown: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US |
| Hometown: | PORTLAND, OR, US |
| Hometown: | TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 108 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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