Col. Brian Vaughn assumed command of the 187th Fighter Wing during an assumption of command ceremony, September 1, 2022.
A career pilot with over 3,000 military flight hours and tenured maintenance officer, Vaughn received his commission in 1996 through Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at Auburn University. He served as the vice-commander of the wing from June 2019 until earning this position and beginning his command on August 2, 2022.
"I am grateful for the opportunity to lead the Red Tails,” Vaughn said. “This wing has been family for me since 2007, and I’m humbled and truly honored by this responsibility. We, the Red Tail family, are strong because of the relationships and trust on this team. Because of the connectedness we share, we are able to utilize new aircraft like the F-35 and be successful executing agile combat employment in the global theatre. We are entering a time period of transition as the F-16 cycles out and the F-35 arrives. I couldn’t be prouder to be part of this team and am so excited for what we will do together."
Since first arriving as the chief of advanced programs, Vaughn has been a squadron and group commander in the maintenance group, along with his time serving as the vice-commander.
The wing includes the famed 100th Fighter Squadron, historically revered as one of the Tuskegee Airmen squadrons from World War II, currently made up of F-16C+ Fighting Falcons. The squadron and wing will transition to a fifth-generation fighter aircraft in the near future, being one of the leading Air National Guard units equipped with the F-35A Lightning II aircraft.
Brig. Gen. Edward Casey, the chief of staff for the Alabama Air National Guard, officiated Vaughn’s assumption of command ceremony.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am for Brian and for the Red Tail family as he assumes command of this wing,” Casey said. “I’ve known and served with him for a long time and am confident he is prepared to lead the 187th during this transition to the F-35. This state and wing are ready to land F-35’s here today, and begin executing proficiently, thanks to the professionals within the Red Tail family. This is truly a special place with a legendary heritage and a very bright future. This is the right member of this family to lead us during this time, and I am proud to serve alongside him and the Red Tails.”
As the commander of the Red Tails, Vaughn is now responsible for 1,400 personnel that make up four geographically separated units, to include a squadron of F-16 fighter jets that will transition to F-35’s in 2023, a combat communications group, an RC-26 reconnaissance aircraft squadron, and an eagle vision unit.
| Date Taken: | 09.02.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 09.02.2022 11:33 |
| Story ID: | 428592 |
| Location: | MONTGOMERY, AL, US |
| Web Views: | 97 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Vaughn assumes command of the 187th Fighter Wing, by Billy Blankenship, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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