Lt. Gen. Seip visits 3rd Herd Published Feb. 26, 2009 By Howdy Stout Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla., -- Twelfth Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Norman R. Seip visited Airmen of the 3rd Combat Communications Group last week and briefed them on the pending reorganization of the Air Force's combat communications groups. By mid-year, the Tinker-based 3rd Combat Communications Group will fall under Air Force Space Command instead of Air Combat Command. The unit will report to a wing commander rather than directly to the Twelfth Air Force commander. "If you like to be on the cutting edge, 3rd Combat Comm is the place to be," General Seip said. Lt. Michael Capra, executive officer of the 3rd, said the reorganization makes sense as AFSPC maintains control of the unit's satellites. Operators and equipment will then be under the same command. "It seems it'll be a good thing," Lieutenant Capra said. "It's a natural progression." Although the 3rd's mission will remain the same, the unit will fall under the newly-activated 689th Combat Communications Wing. The wing will be located at Tinker Air Force Base. The move comes amid the reorganization of numbered Air Forces and after the Pentagon in October dismissed the creation of a separate Air Force Cyber Command. In what is probably his last visit to Tinker before a change of command later this year, General Seip also presented coins to several Airmen who distinguished themselves in their duties with the unit. "Thanks for what you're doing each and every day," General Seip said. "What you do makes a difference." Lieutenant Capra said the general normally visits the 3rd every six months, interacting with members of the unit. But with General Seip's impending change of command, this was probably his last visit. He met with Airmen, held a commander's call at the base theater and took a trip out to the Glenwood training area where Airmen were participating in field exercises.