Skywrighter.com: News

Air Force photo by Spencer P. Lane

Col. Scotty E. Lewis, 375th Operations Group commander, Scott AFB, Ill., unfurls the guidon of the 54th Airlift Squadron during the units redesignation from flight to squadron Thursday. Lt. Col. Brady Cheek, (right), was the 47th Airlift Flight commander and is now the commander of the 54th Airlift Squadron. The establishment of the 54th Airlift Squadron came about from a consolidation of the 47th Airlift Flight here, and the 54th Airlift Flight at Maxwell AFB, Ala.

The event included the deactivation of the base’s 47th Airlift Flight which, along with deactivated 54th Airlift Flight from Maxwell AFB, Ala., became the 54th Airlift Squadron. Lt. Col. Brady C. Cheek, former commander of the 47th AF, became the 54th Airlift Squadron’s commander, and Lt. Col. Don Starr, former commander of the 54th Airlift Flight, received the Meritorious Service Medal for his leadership of that unit.

The mission of the 54th Airlift Squadron, part of the Air Force Air Mobility Command, is reflected in the unit’s patch logo that reads “General Delivery.”

The squadron will provide support and transportation for Air Force leaders. A C-21 squadron, the new unit will fly 13 of the twin-engine jets, each capable of carrying eight passengers and two pilots for 2,000 miles before refueling.

When two units combine, the nomenclature of the older one generally is used. The lineage of the 54th Airlift Flight dates back to 1917 and predates that of the 47th by 25 years.

The activation of the 54th Airlift Squadron came about with the consolidation of eight airlift flights into four locations at Andrews AFB, Md., Scott AFB, Ill., Peterson AFB, Colo., and Wright-Patterson. “We will fly anywhere that allows C-21s,” said Lt. Col. John Basnett, the squadron’s director of operations.

“There’s about a 50/50 ratio of military/civilian airports we fly to. The consolidation to four maintenance bases decreases the overhead and increases the efficiency.”

“We’re flying great airplanes, and the missions allow our pilots to interact with senior leadership,” said Col. Cheek. “The consolidation means a lot more work for us, but we’ve got a great unit. I wouldn’t trade the people here for anything in the world.“Our mission doesn’t skip a beat because of the great support we get from the wing here. Wright-Patterson is a great base from the air traffic control people to the fabrication shop. Also, we have a very enviable military-contractor relationship. Without Dave Riegel, the maintenance supervisor, and his people from L3 Vertex, we couldn’t do our jobs nearly as well. This is the highlight of my military career.”