Photo By Master Sgt. Lindsey Watson | The 104th Fighter Wing will hold a ceremony on Monday June 6 where Col. Tom 'Sling'...... read more read more
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Col. Tom ‘Sling’ Bladen assumed command of the 104th Fighter Wing from Col. Peter T. Green III in a change of command ceremony June 8, 2020 at Barnes Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts.
Bladen was previously the 104FW vice commander. He always knew he wanted to serve his country and be involved in aviation because of his strong relationship with his two grandfathers and the legacy of his uncle.
“My two grandfathers had a huge impact on me,” said Bladen: “One was an aviator in the Pacific during World War II and one was a machinist in the Navy. His brother was killed in a bomber over Germany in WWII during a mission, and he is my namesake. Between the three of them, it was important that I was involved in military service and aviation.”
He has been serving in the Air Force since graduating from the Air Force Academy in 1997 where he studied electrical engineering and Spanish.
“What drew me to the Air Force Academy was the academic standards, requirement to maintain physical fitness and the importance of working as a team toward a higher calling,” said Bladen.
After graduating from the Air Force Academy, Bladen went on to complete pilot training where he earned the title of distinguished graduate and was selected to fly F-15s.
“It was important for me to have a career that was intellectually rigorous, but did not put me behind a desk,” said Bladen. “When you fly F-15s no two missions are the same, so it keeps it fresh.”
After being an F-15 instructor, commander, and completing a few career-broadening tours, Bladen wanted to be able to focus on the unit level and the Airmen within that unit.
“My passion is for the unit level,” said Bladen. “I appreciate all of the career-broadening opportunities I have had, but my passion lies with making an impact at the unit level.”
Bladen was introduced to the 104FW through his best friend and best man at his wedding, Lt. Col. Morris ‘Moose’ Fontenot Jr. Fontenot was the inspector general and an experienced F-15 pilot at the 104FW who died in an F-15 crash in Virginia in 2014. Bladen made the decision to come to the 104FW and take up Fontenot’s role as the inspector general the following February.
“To be able to come to the unit that Moose loved and work with the people he loved is a new level of motivation and is meaningful,” said Bladen.
After being the IG for four months, Bladen moved onto being the operations group commander for three years.
“I really enjoyed deploying with the unit as the operations group commander to eastern Europe in 2016,” said Bladen. “It was a great opportunity to meet everyone in the operations group, maintenance group, and aviation package and get to know everyone.”
Bladen was then selected for a tour in the Secretary of Defense Fortune 500 Fellowship July 2018 - June 2019 in Maryland.
“The fellowship was an excellent opportunity to look at how successful companies manage their time, resources and most importantly their people,” said Bladen.
Upon completion of his fellowship, Bladen returned to take on the role of the 104FW vice commander in June 2019.
“What really struck me when I arrived at Barnes was the ability to do what we do here with the manning we have and the ability of drill status guardsmen to balance their guard careers with their civilian careers and families,” said Bladen. “While our strength is our diversity, it can also be a challenge, and that is why we have to do our best to support one another and approach one another with empathy.”
We need to find new ways to do business in a new environment to continue defending the freedom and security of America, he said.
“It is intimidating to be taking over as the commander, and I know that I do not have all of the answers,” said Bladen: “I am gathering the people who have the expertise independent of their status or rank and trusting that they will give me the best solutions to the problems they are stakeholders in. My hope is that rather than leading the unit, I will be following the people with strong voices by creating an environment that allows them to speak up and lead.”
| Date Taken: | 06.08.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 06.08.2020 09:47 |
| Story ID: | 371647 |
| Location: | WESTFIELD, MA, US |
| Web Views: | 756 |
| Downloads: | 4 |
This work, Colonel Tom ‘Sling’ Bladen named 104th Fighter Wing commander, by MSgt Lindsey Watson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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