Photo By John Turner | Maj. James Spoo, right, formally accepts command of the 741st Maintenance Squadron...... read more read more
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GREAT FALLS, Mont. - The 341st Maintenance Operations Squadron was formally inactivated and the 741st Maintenance Squadron was immediately activated in its place Dec. 30, 2015, recalling the New Year’s tradition of “out with the old and in with the new.”
Col. Kenneth Speidel, 341st Maintenance Group commander, and Maj. James Spoo, 341st MOS commander, ceremonially inactivated the maintenance operations squadron at the Grizzly Bend by furling and casing the unit’s guidon. The 741st MXS guidon was then unfurled and revealed to signify activation of the maintenance squadron, which Spoo accepted command of from Speidel.
This change in squadron designation does not affect the day-to-day mission here or create a restructuring of personnel, according to Spoo.
“Our mission will stay the same,” Spoo said. “We are still supporting the greater missile wing mission of putting sorties on alert and supporting the nuclear deterrence mission that Global Strike Command set for us. That will all stay the same.”
The ceremony publically recognized the Air Force’s redesignation of its last remaining maintenance operations squadrons – one at each of 20th Air Force’s three intercontinental ballistic missile wings – to maintenance squadrons to align them with aircraft maintenance units across the force. The redesignation of the 341st MOS to 741st MXS became official Sept. 30, 2015 and went into immediate effect at Malmstrom upon notification in November.
Several years ago the Air Force streamlined its aircraft maintenance organization by merging component maintenance, equipment maintenance and maintenance operations squadrons into single units known as maintenance squadrons, Speidel said in his remarks at the start of the ceremony. The ICBM maintenance community had already consolidated its component maintenance squadrons and vital support functions into maintenance operations squadrons, so initially there wasn’t a need to make changes at missile wings.
“Sometimes being too unique can work against you,” Speidel said, adding that the three ICBM maintenance operations squadrons were vastly different organizations than what aircraft maintainers understood them to be. “To ensure the continued career growth of our personnel, it’s vital that mainstream Air Force understands what our maintenance professionals do.”
The Air Force’s standardization of all maintenance organizations will benefit ICBM maintenance in areas such as parts requisition, maintenance data analysis and trending, training and equipment management, he said.
“The squadron redesignation makes good sense and places it on equal footing with its sister units in aircraft maintenance,” Speidel said. “While it’s important we retain our pride in being ICBM maintainers and never forget the powerful, unique role we have in the Air Force’s deterrent mission, it’s important we remember first and foremost that we’re maintainers.”
The 741st MXS will receive a new unit emblem as part of the redesignation. Additionally, the squadron now follows the lineage of the 741st Consolidated Aircraft Squadron constituted Oct. 1, 1991, at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida and inactivated April 1, 1997, as the 741st MXS.
| Date Taken: | 01.05.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 01.05.2016 18:57 |
| Story ID: | 185670 |
| Location: | GREAT FALLS, MT, US |
| Web Views: | 147 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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