Col. George takes over 76th MXW

Published May 5, 2011
By Brandice J. O'Brien
Tinker Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The 76th Maintenance Wing welcomed a new commander April 29.

In front of approximately 250 Tinker senior leaders, community officials and base personnel, Col. Cedric George succeeded Maj. Gen. Bruce Litchfield as the wing's commander. The change-of-command ceremony was held at the Hollywood and Vine corridor in Bldg. 3001.

"Colonel George, this great team is doing very, very well, but they've only begun to scratch the surface," said Maj. Gen. David Gillett, OC-ALC commander. "They have so much more that they can and will do. I'm depending on your leadership to carry this team forward in order for them to perform at levels previously thought to be unattainable."

Colonel George arrived at Tinker from the Pentagon, in Washington, D.C., where he served as special assistant to the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force. In his 23-year career, he has extensive experience in acquisitions in both Air Force and joint programs. He's held numerous maintenance positions and has served in leadership positions at the wing, major command and Air Staff levels.

The colonel said he's excited about his move to the maintenance wing and to work with the "best trained and most versatile maintainers our Air Force has ever known."

"That is why I will ask each of you to continue identifying new ways to effectively and efficiently do our very serious business," he said. "We must maintain our focus on speed, quality and safety to meet our warfighter needs, plus ensure Tinker is the global repair center of choice. This is our road ahead and I embrace the opportunity to travel it with you."

He also stated his standards for the men and women of the wing.

"I expect all maintainers to have personal and professional discipline," Colonel George said. "I expect you to produce safe, reliable aircraft, components and missiles to meet the warfighters' needs, which means quality 'by the books' maintenance on every task; absolutely no exceptions. And, last but not least, I expect you to have a positive and professional attitude in every challenge we face."

General Litchfield came to Tinker in January 2009 and during his tenure, led the wing to achieve several awards, take on new workloads and surpass goals.

"General Litchfield, your real legacy is the people who think and act as a team," said General Gillett. "These people, as your team, are redesigning their own work, solving problems and getting better and better every day. That is no mistake and that is your real legacy."

In General Litchfield's next assignment, he will remain at Tinker and serve as special assistant to the commander of Air Force Materiel Command.

During his address, he referenced two questions - "Are we winning?" and "If so, how do you know?" - he often asked wing personnel during his time as commander. He reminisced on the answers he'd received through the years and gave his own opinion on the answers.

"Are we winning? The answer is unequivocally yes. Now you have to ask me the tough question, 'How do I know?'" General Litchfield said.

The general rattled off a laundry list of accomplishments, but said those were just statistics.

"The importance of what we do has a much higher meaning to our nation," he said. "Last month I had the opportunity to go around the world with our AFMC commander and we saw many Airmen doing some amazing work under some absolutely difficult conditions. The sortie rates were staggering, but so were the success rates.

"We saw 'Team Tinker's' fingerprints everywhere - aircraft, engines, serviceable parts, test equipment in which we provided software," General Litchfield said. "The capabilities you provide to the War on Terror are making a difference."