Pápa, 22 June 2023 - Colonel Peder Söderström, the first Swedish Commander of the Heavy Airlift Wing, passed over command to Colonel Jason Mills (US Air Force) during a Change of Command Ceremony at Hungarian Defense Forces 47th Air Base in Pápa, Hungary.
The Strategic Airlift Capability’s (SAC) operational arm, the Heavy Airlift Wing sees a change of command every two years, where, true to the organization’s multinational spirit, no commander of the same nationality follows another.
The SAC has achieved a number of milestones during Colonel Peder Söderström’s command. The list includes providing life-saving airlift to Türkiye after devastating earthquakes early 2023 and evacuating 2300 people from Kabul, Afghanistan in 2021.
As it was getting dark, I sat in the cockpit on the ground in Kabul watching the numerous tracers painting the sky with horizontal red colors thinking; this is it; this is why we have the equipment we have and why we do the training we do. Despite the risk of small arms fire or ground attacks, we extended ground time as long as possible for the maximum number of passengers to board.
None of you hesitated to complete your missions, I was so impressed.
Ladies and gentlemen this is how this program works
, said Colonel Söderström about the Kabul rescue mission.
Colonel Jason Mills becomes the 5th American Commander in the Program’s 14-year history, after serving the SAC as Vice Commander for two years.
We are strong because of our diversity of background and experiences, agile in our ability to support not just local, but global crises and we are put at this place and time to care not just for each other, but for the struggles and challenges of our Nations and the world.
Thank you for your support and devotion to this program and I look forward to our coming successes – the world will not stop turning because we are here today so let’s get back to work
, addressed the new Commander his team on his first day of commanding the Heavy Airlift Wing.