38th CEIG/CC is a believer in communication

Published Sept. 19, 2013
By Brandice J. O'Brien
Tinker Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- According to an old adage, "Home is where the Air Force sends you." But, to Col. Eric DeLange, his new Oklahoma "home" is much more. It's where he said he belongs. Just look inside his 38th Cyberspace Engineering Installation Group command office. There, sitting on an end table is a cylindrical jar holding cherry red and spearmint white candies, representing the colors of the University of Oklahoma Sooners.

While the colonel does not claim Oklahoma as his home state and does not have any notable ties to the Sooners except for his Norman address, he said he's excited to be back at a base, working with Airmen, being a part of the Air Force family Tinker spirit. Plus, there's much he can offer his group. He's already blending in.

"I bring an operational cyberspace background as my most recent command experience was at a network operations squadron. Being involved in that day-to-day world and the day-to-day fight of operating the networks and defending the networks definitely adds perspective," said Colonel DeLange. "I bring that flavor into the mix and I think that can only help in what we do."

Colonel DeLange came to Tinker from Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., where he was a student at the National War College and earned a Master of Science in National Security Studies. He has a career rich in communications and cyber operations with experience at the Numbered Air Force, major command, Air Force Headquarters, Joint Force Headquarters and Joint Staff levels.

The colonel said his goal as the 38th CEIG commander is to continue to support the Air Force command and control network enterprise. To do so, he will have more interaction with the operational community -- the 688th Information Operations Wing at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, which is the parent organization to the 38th CEIG; and the 67th Network Warfare Wing, a sister wing.

"Communication is a big part of that," said Colonel DeLange. "It's like real estate, but instead of location, location, location, it's communication, communication, communication."

But, Colonel DeLange said he isn't worried about the task he has ahead of him. He knows he has an excellent team.

"The work experience of the engineers we have here in the 38th CEIG is close to 20 years. That's technical know-how, but it's also experience seeing the changes that have come over those two decades," he said. "It's just incredible to see them at work."