JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. — The 194th Regional Support Wing was redesignated as the 194th Wing in a ceremony at French Theater on Aug. 8. In the new designation, the 194th will be under the U.S. Space Command, while it was previously under the Air Combat Command.
“The term Regional Support Wing has become a poor description for this composite organization, and doctrinally incorrect,” said Maj. Jesse Ruhl, Wing executive officer, in remarks at the ceremony.
Even as the 194th has proved its value to the Guard’s federal mission, its designation as a “regional support wing” was a point of confusion, said Col. Jeremy Horn, 194th Wing commander. The word “support” doesn’t adequately describe the Wing’s purpose, said Horn. “All of what we do is operations,” he said.
With the shorter title, “less is more,” said Horn. “The name reflects a big tent.”
The 252nd Group was the major forerunner of the 194th Wing, said Ruhl in a brief description of the Wing’s history. In 1976, the Group took on a medical detachment at Camp Murray to support the Group’s seven units throughout the state. The Washington Air Guard took on additional support services in 1982, including JAG, chaplain, personnel, and combat arms training functions within Detachment 1. During the 1980s and 1990s, the Washington Air Guard grew and took on new units and specializations, finally reorganizing with the intention of forming of a new Wing in 2004. In 2006 the 194th Regional Support Wing was approved. It was the first non-flying Wing in the Air National Guard, said Ruhl.
Brig. Gen. John Tuohy, Assistant Adjutant General for Air of the Washington Air National Guard, recalled the events that led to the creation of the 194th. In the 1980s, then-Col. Frank Scoggins was tasked with establishing an A10 unit in the Washington Air National Guard. “That didn’t happen, but he stayed around and rose to become ATAG,” said Tuohy. As Assistant Adjutant General for Air, Maj. Gen. Scoggins had a vision for cyber security in the mission of the Washington Air Guard, even as most of the state’s combat communications activities fell away, said Tuohy.
“There are more changes to come, and they’re all good,” said Tuohy.
| Date Taken: |
09.11.2015 |
| Date Posted: |
09.11.2015 16:46 |
| Story ID: |
175794 |
| Location: |
CAMP MURRAY, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: |
251 |
| Downloads: |
1 |
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This work, 194th Redesignation: "Less is more," says Horn, by Capt. Hans Zeiger, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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