The 27th Special Operations Wing, welcomes a new commanding officer, Colonel Stephen A. Clark
AMARILLO, TEXAS -- It's one of Cannon Air Force Base's most prestigious and emotional ceremonies, the changing of command. This is the first change of command since the base's mission changed, and the 27th Fighter Wing was replaced by the 27th Special Operations Wing (SOW), back in October of 2007.
The entire wing was on hand to welcome Colonel Stephen A. Clark, and to say goodbye to Colonel Tim Leahy, the outgoing commanding officer.
"Colonel Leahy had the responsibility of building the infrastructure and building the foundation, and that's a lot of heavy lifting. I have the advantageous position of getting to add the mission to it, and get them out in the field into combat, and by August 1st, we will have six operational squadrons and all of them will be in the fight," said Colonel Stephen A. Clark, the new commanding officer of Cannon Air Force Base.
According to Leahy, the surrounding communities have made his time at Cannon a pleasure, and Clark quickly pointed out some of the great qualities of the area.
"The people are wonderful, they're very patriotic and they support our mission tremendously, and there is really not much else we could ask of them. I would ask that they continue to support our airmen as they participate in their community," said Colonel Clark.
The new look Cannon, will have several special operations aircraft like the osprey, the predator (unmanned craft), the very large spectre gunship, among various other leading edge aircraft, the help make up the 27th SOW.
