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315th Operations Group making multiple leadership changes

  • Published
  • By Capt. Wayne Capps
  • 315th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. --  Two squadrons in the 315th Operations Group changed leadership this weekend are among of OG's changes.

The 315th Operations Support Squadron and 300th Airlift Squadron recently had changes of command.

Lt. Col. Stan Davis took command of the 315th Operations Support Squadron from Lt. Col. Eric Fornell in a ceremony Saturday, March 24.

Colonel Davis commanded the first combat airdrop in Operation Enduring Freedom and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions and leadership in that endeavor. He was also recognized for triage efforts by the Secretary of Defense in support of the Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia.

"Colonel Davis was humble in acknowledging all who helped prepare him for command and looked forward to working with the great performers already leading the way in operations, the men and women of the 315 OSS," said Col. Terry Lawrence, 315 OG commander

Lt. Col. Fornell took command of the 300th Airlift Squadron replacing Lt. Col. Bob Graham..

"Colonel Fornell is supported by a family of all-stars which should give the 300th all the top cover it could ever need," Colonel Lawrence said.

Colonel Graham has taken the challenge to become the C-17 squadron commander up at Dover Air Force Base, Del. "He was sought after, by name, to fill a void in Dover and help them continue to mature their capability," Colonel Lawrence said.

Joining Colonel Graham in Dover will be Lt. Col. Michael DeSantis, an Air Reserve Technician from the 317 AS, to be his director of operations.

"Ops wishes them both the very best and thanks them for all they have done for Team Charleston," Colonel Lawrence said.

The operations group is seeing a change in leadership amongst many of its squadrons. Some change is driven by promotion of current leaders and some is to continue the broadening of others as Charleston continues to be a great proving ground for up and coming senior leaders in the Command.

Lt. Col. Ben Vorhees, 315 OG deputy commander, and Lt. Col. Michael Zaccardo, 701 Airlift Squadron commander, both long standing leaders here flying the C-17 as part of the 315th Airlift Wing, were selected for promotion to colonel and are now interviewing for and being considered for various senior Leader positions to continue their contributions to the nation.

Lt. Col. Michael Zaccardo, 701 AS commander, has been selected for promotion to colonel and will pin on May 1, 2012. "He is considering his options for the future, but will most certainly be missed by his squadron and the operations group as a whole should he have to move on," Colonel Lawrence said.

Lt Col Ben Vorhees, 315 OG deputy commander, is currently deployed to Joint Base Andrews, Md. as commander of the 306th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron and representing the 315th Airlift Wing/4th Air Force/AFRC as trailblazers in the C-17 enterprise. He has been selected for promotion to colonel and will pin on 1 June 2012. "Thanks for a job extremely well done!" Colonel Lawrenece said.

Lt. Col. Ed Paylor, 317 AS commander, has been invited to work on the staff at 4th Air Force and will continue to fly with the 315 AW attached as he will go on to represent the line flyers and total C-17 enterprise within AFRC on a grander scale.

"Fortunately for us, with such a great deal of turnover, we also have a great pool of applicants from which to select our leaders who will direct us into the future," said Colonel Lawrence. "Ours is an ultra-high ops tempo business and we are blessed to have such highly qualified combat airlifters taking the helm to lead us into the future...whatever that may hold."

Lt. Col. Brent Merritt is slated to take command of the 317 AS, the first Reserve Squadron to fly the C-17. "He will bring with him a keen insight into higher headquarters operations. He was an expert for the C-17 Enterprise Air Force wide and is looking forward to coming back home to Charleston following an AGR tour at AFRC," Colonel Lawrence said.

Lastly, Lt Col Rick Bennett will be taking the helm of the 701 AS in the very near future as colonel (select) Zaccardo gets promoted and moves on. "Colonel Bennett is another highly experienced C-17 pioneer selected for his leadership and contributions to the entire operations group. Many don't realize it, but Lt Col Bennett started out as a "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" back in his early airlift days...and danced beside James Brown on a USO trip. Who else to continue the legacy of the "flying turtles," Colonel Lawrence said.