Photo By Staff Sgt. Kylee Warren | Members of the 153rd Airlift Wing attend a transformation ceremony at the Wyoming Air...... read more read more
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – In a move marking a pivotal shift in its organizational evolution, the 153rd Airlift Wing hosted a transformation ceremony Aug. 3, 2025, at the Wyoming Air National Guard Base in Cheyenne.
Presided over by Col. Brian W. Diehl, 153rd Airlift Wing commander, the ceremony officially restructured the wing’s command alignment in a deliberate effort to enhance combat effectiveness, agility, and joint-force interoperability.
“We are purposely separating combat and garrison functions,” Diehl said. “We’re improving our inoperability with the joint force, and we’re adjusting our formation to unleash our best and brightest to innovate, execute with decision-making, authority where it belongs – at the point of execution.”
Previously organized under the traditional Air Force model, consisting of wing leadership, special staff, five groups, 14 squadrons and two flights. The 153rd will now operate under a dual-deputy structure, dividing leadership responsibilities between operations and sustainment.
As part of the ceremony, the 153rd Operations Group and 153rd Maintenance Group formally relinquished command. Their former commanders, Col. Lawrence Sullivan and Col. Bret Trippel, assumed the new roles of deputy commander for operations and deputy commander for sustainment, respectively.
Trippel, now responsible for garrison and support functions, emphasized the readiness focus of his new role.
“The new command staff structure is designed specifically so we can better answer the call when our nation needs us,” Trippel said. “My priority will be ensuring the 153rd Airlift Wing will have the personnel, equipment, and mission systems needed to remain ready and sustained.”
Sullivan, who will oversee combat operations when the wing deploys, spoke to the strategic vision behind the change.
“We stand today at a critical juncture,” he said. “A time that demands transformation, honors the courage to trailblaze, and ultimately rewards lethality.”
The reorganization aligns with broader Department of the Air Force initiatives to create more agile, mission-ready units capable of thriving in an era of strategic competition.
“The nature of war changes and our military changes,” Diehl said. “The nature of war drives changes in our formations, and history is not kind to those who are unable to evolve. We can, we should, and we must transform our wing into a deployable combat wing formation, capable of delivering decisive power anytime, anywhere.”
| Date Taken: | 08.05.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.05.2025 13:12 |
| Story ID: | 544791 |
| Location: | CHEYENNE, WYOMING, US |
| Web Views: | 188 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Forging the Future: 153rd Airlift Wing Launches Historic Transformation, by SSgt Kylee Warren, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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