Photo By John Oldham | LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. — Col. Matthew M. Groves accepts the guidon from...... read more read more
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LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark., — An Air Force officer with more than 25 years of service took command of the Arkansas Air National Guard in a ceremony here at 1 p.m. June 6, 2025.
Col. Matthew M. Groves, most recently the senior military advisor to the deputy undersecretary of defense for force development and emerging capabilities at the Pentagon, assumed overall command of 2,000 Air National Guardsmen from Brig. Gen. William M. Leahy.
“He is an accomplished C-130 pilot, former wing commander out of Texas,” said Brig. Gen. Chad Bridges, Arkansas’ adjutant general. “But like many of our Airmen who serve in Arkansas, he’s been different places.”
Groves commissioned a second lieutenant through Officer Training School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., in 1999. He has extensive involvement with joint and interagency counterdrug operations and expertise in the United States Southern Command area of operations. He has commanded aircrews on combat missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Balkans region, as well as domestic humanitarian missions. He has extensive legislative expertise, serving as a Congressional Fellow and Legislative Liaison for both the Air Force and Office of the Secretary of Defense.
In Arkansas he’ll oversee two wings: the 188th Wing at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith, Ark., and the 189th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville, Ark., and geographical separated units, providing ready Airmen for ongoing global military operations and response to domestic emergencies for the Governor of Arkansas.
“The Arkansas Air National Guard is not just a collection of aircraft and units of facilities,” the colonel said. “It is a family, and the key to our continued success is people.”
He said the organization must focus on recruiting, retaining and developing Airmen, and that everyone who dons the uniform matters.
“Your service and whatever amount of time you dedicate to this organization is essential to our mission,” Groves said. “When we put this uniform on, we make lives better.”
He told the audience of roughly 100 military leaders, elected officials, and rank-and-file Airmen that service in the Air National Guard isn’t a job; it’s a calling.
“I believe in this mission,” he said. “I believe in this team, and I believe that together we are going to rise to meet every challenge before us. Thank you for your trust. Let’s get to work.”
The colonel is a command pilot with more than 2,000 hours in the T-37, T-44, C-130E/H/J, C-17A, and KC-135. His decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with six oak leaf clusters, Air Medal, Aerial Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, and the Army Commendation Medal.
Leahy’s next assignment is as the Air National Guard assistant to the commander, United States Air Forces Central Command.
| Date Taken: | 06.06.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.06.2025 16:40 |
| Story ID: | 499906 |
| Location: | LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, ARKANSAS, US |
| Web Views: | 74 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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