New commander at helm for 911th Airlift Wing

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jonathan Hehnly
  • 911 AW/PA
PITTSBURGH IAP ARS --  The reins of control of the 911th Airlift Wing changed hands Oct. 3 as Col. Jeffrey T. Pennington assumed command.

The ceremony was officiated by Maj. Gen. James T. Rubeor, 22nd Air Force commander. As the honor guard opened the event, Colonel Pennington's father, Brian, played the National Anthem on the trumpet.

Colonel Pennington was accompanied to Pittsburgh by his wife, Lisa, and his two daughters: Keenan, 8, and Pierce, 10.

"I'm excited about our journey here," said Col. Pennington. "Let's create memories and work together as a team with our families, civic leaders and the reserve component."

Colonel Pennington was commissioned into the United States Air Force Aug. 12, 1988. He completed undergraduate pilot training at Williams Air Force Base, Ariz., in 1989, and was initially assigned to the 344th Air Refueling Squadron at Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.

Colonel Pennington remained at Seymour Johnson until 1994 when he was re-stationed to Travis Air Force Base, Calif. The colonel stayed at Travis Air Force Base until his most recent assignment began in 2007 as the commander of the 452nd Operations Group, Air Force Reserve Command, located at March Air Reserve Base, Calif. While there he also served as an operations officer, instructor aircraft commander and standardizations and evaluation aircraft commander.

The colonel had deployed on multiple occasions supporting Operations Desert Shield Desert Storm, Proud Return, Provide Comfort, Restore Hope and Desert Strike.

As the new installation commander, he is the senior officer responsible for the wing organization, which consists of nearly 1,350 personnel.

Colonel Pennington succeeded Col. Gordon H. Elwell Jr.

"Thank you 911th, It has been an absolute wonderful tour," said Colonel Elwell. "It is very easy to be a commander when you have a wing full of great followers and great leaders."

Colonel Elwell had been the 911th Airlift Wing commander since July 11, 2007.The colonel and his wife, Jane, have moved to Georgia where he is chief of the Force Generation Center, Operations Division, at Robins Air Force Base.