New ADC commander highlights bright future for Georgia Combat Readiness Training Center

Photo By Master Sgt. Caila Arahood | U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Stephen “Tracker” Thomas, gives a speech to Airmen and state employees of the Air Dominance Center after he assumed command of the Combat Readiness Training Center Jan. 8, 2023 at the Savannah Air National Guard Base, Georgia. “We have forged a name for ourselves as the premier training center for future generations of warfighters, showcased through Sentry Savannah and Agile Flag exercises that have tested the outer limits of our capabilities,” said Thomas, “This is only the beginning, it is time to go full throttle as we continue to showcase ourselves as one of the most important assets the National Guard has in its inventory.” (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Caila Arahood)  

SAVANNAH, GA, UNITED STATES

01.08.2023

Story by Tech. Sgt. Caila Arahood 

165th Airlift Wing

SAVANNAH, Ga. – U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Stephen “Tracker” Thomas, assumed command of the Air Dominance Center, the Georgia Combat Readiness Training Center, Georgia Air National Guard, from Col. Douglas “Atlas” Fike, during a change of command ceremony January 8 at the Air Dominance Center (ADC), Savannah Air National Guard (ANG) Base, Georgia.
“Atlas has worked tirelessly to ensure that the Air Dominance Center’s creditability and business model of this training center remains intact going long into the future,” said the ceremony presiding officer, Maj. Gen. Thomas Grabowski, commander of the Georgia Air National Guard., “He will definitely be missed by all who have served with him.”
Fike served as the Georgia CRTC commander beginning in November 2019 and will retire after 22 years of combined active-duty Air Force and ANG service.
Some of Fike’s accomplishments include the support of over 500 days of continuous Operation Noble Eagle support as well as hosting the largest Sentry Savanah exercise to-date in 2022.
“The Air Dominance Center is going to be pivotal as we retool our nation, and more specifically our Air Force, to fight in a peer-to-peer environment,” said Grabowski, “As we continue to move forward with multi-capable Airmen and warfighting concepts, I truly believe Tracker is the right guy, at the right time, to come in and lead the way forward.”
Thomas takes command with nearly 19 years of combined active-duty and ANG service and has held several titles throughout his career including F-15E Instructor Pilot/Flight Commander, F-15 Pilot/Wing Weapons Officer and most recently he was the National Guard Bureau’s Exercise Director for Sentry Savannah here at the ADC which is an exercise that trains and equips combat Airmen for both Federal and State missions.
After the passing of the guide-on in the traditional change-of-command ceremony, Thomas addressed the Airmen and state employees of the ADC to set precedent for the future work that lies ahead.
“We have forged a name for ourselves as the premier training center for future generations of warfighters, showcased through Sentry Savannah and Agile Flag exercises that have tested the outer limits of our capabilities,” said Thomas, “This is only the beginning, it is time to go full throttle as we continue to showcase ourselves as one of the most important assets the National Guard has in its inventory.”
As new mission tactics and strategies like Agile Combat Employment continue to be the forefront of the Air Force Mission, Thomas said, “We will be laser focused on our mission of providing the Air Force, Air National Guard, the reserves, our joint partners and most importantly, the warfighter, the best training opportunities in the Department of Defense.”
The ADC is one of four CRTCs in the country that provides exclusive air-to-air, joint aerial combat exercises for fourth- and fifth-generation fighters that tests and trains the capabilities of our present and future warfighters in a simulated environment for tomorrow’s fight with integrated combat tactics, ground-based training, and defensive/offensive counter-air missions and cruise missile defense.
The unique location of the ADC provides an unrivaled training area near the largest military training airspace in the DoD that stretches from Charleston to Orlando. This airspace provides pilots an aerial battlespace hundreds of miles long from zero to 60,000 feet to train for tomorrow’s fight, today.
To view imagery from this event and future events, please visit us at https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/165AW or on Facebook or Instagram by searching ‘Air Dominance Center’ and ‘165th Airlift Wing’.
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• Date Taken: 01.08.2023
• Date Posted: 01.11.2023 16:36
• Story ID: 436617
• Location: SAVANNAH, GA, US