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New commander takes reins of 507th ARW

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Richard Curry
  • 507th ARW Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Col. Russell A. Muncy assumed command of the 507th Air Refueling Wing at a ceremony held at Tinker AFB on Oct. 2.

During the ceremony, Col. Jeffery R. Glass relinquished command of the wing, a position he had held since July 2006.

Fourth Air Force Commander Brig. Gen. Mark A. Kyle served as the presiding official for the event. Colonel Muncy comes to the 507th ARW from his former position as commander of the 459th Air Refueling Wing, Joint Base Andrews, Md.

Upon receiving his commission from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1983, Colonel Muncy served on active duty as a KC-135A/R pilot and squadron flying safety officer before getting out of the service in December 1990. Colonel Muncy re-entered the service with the Air Force Reserve in 1995 serving as a pilot, flying safety officer, operations plans officer, chief pilot, operations officer and commander since that time. Colonel Muncy also served a tour as the HQ AFRC tanker operations officer at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., where he orchestrated AFRC's tanker operations in response to the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

Prior to his current assignment, he attended Air War College in residence at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. Colonel Muncy has deployed numerous times in support of Operations Desert Shield, Joint Forge, Deliberate Guard, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn, most recently in 2010-2011 as the Chief of Staff Joint Forces Special Operations Component Command in Baghdad, Iraq. He is a command pilot with more than 4,000 hours flown in T-37, T-38, and KC-135A/R aircraft.

The 507 ARW is the largest Air Force Reserve flying unit in the state of Oklahoma and consists of three subordinate groups, 9 squadrons, six flights, and employs approximately 1,140 men and women. The wing reports to 4th Air Force and supports Air Mobility Command's airlift and air refueling requirements, Federal Aviation Administration's flight inspection requirements and United States Strategic Command's alert and emergency war order requirements.

The wing performs daily flight operations and overseas deployments during peacetime and contingency operations. The 507 ARW also provides peacetime person and support functions for the 513th Air Control Group, AFRC's first Airborne Warning and Control System organization.

The 507 ARW was the first Air Force Reserve unit to serve as a host wing for an associate Air National Guard wing. Aircrew and maintenance members from Oklahoma's 137th Air Refueling Wing currently serve as equal partners with the 507 ARW. Under the associate wing concept, the Air Force Reserve and 507 ARW retain operational control of the assigned 12 KC-135R aircraft while the members of the 137 ARW help fly and maintain those aircraft.