Photo By Mark Schauer | Chief Warrant Officer 5 Ryan Wells (right), new commander of the U.S. Army Special...... read more read more
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The U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command (USASOC) Flight Detachment held a change of command ceremony at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) on May 8.
Chief Warrant Officer 5 Ryan Wells assumed command of the detachment from Chief Warrant Officer 5 David Jones, who is also retiring from active duty.
The flight detachment has supported training operations of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School's Military Freefall School (MFFS) at YPG since 2014.
The MFFS has utilized the proving ground’s vast ranges to train thousands of the military’s most elite paratroopers since opening in 1996.
Wells assumes the post as the detachment’s fourth commander. During Jones’ tenure, the detachment provided flights that accommodated thousands of military free fall students, for which he earned high praise.
“The work is not glamorous, but it is purposeful,” said Maj. Donald MacWillie in remarks at the ceremony. “It is important to ground combatant commanders well away from Yuma.”
Wells brings 25 years of active-duty experience to the command and said he is ready to hit the ground running.
“It’s an outstanding opportunity,” he said. “I’m excited to work with the YPG team and the Military Freefall School.”
The USASOC flight detachment at YPG maintains and flies the C27J, formerly used as a niche cargo plane to supplement the larger C-130. The aircraft was extensively tested at YPG prior to being fielded and is regarded by many as a high-performance aircraft. It achieves altitude more quickly than the aircraft formerly used to support the MFFS prior to the creation of the flight detachment and also accommodates two to three times as many jumpers at a time, which has contributed to a significant expansion of MFFS training opportunities in recent years.
| Date Taken: | 05.08.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.08.2025 19:13 |
| Story ID: | 497453 |
| Location: | YUMA PROVING GROUND, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 180 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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