Col. Jason Allen, 58th Special Operations Wing incoming commander, speaks during a change of command ceremony at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., June 21, 2024. (Spencer Kanar/U.S. Air Force)
(Tribune News Service) — Members of the 58th Special Operations Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base gave their outgoing commander one final salute and then did the same to the incoming leader at a ceremony on Friday.
Command of the 58th SOW transferred from Col. Jonathan Graham to Col. Jason Allen as the two men exchanged a flag on stage in front of military and family members and community leaders at Kirtland.
“In simple terms, the 58th SOW produces the airmen I need, and it continues to produce the airmen we need,” Allen said during his remarks. “This wing always adapts to meeting the challenging environments and adversaries that we face.”
The 58th SOW is considered one of the most diverse wings in the Air Force and is the premier site for training Air Force special operations and combat search-and-rescue aircrews.
Though it’s based at Kirtland, it conducts operations across the country. Airmen training with the wing go through arctic survival courses out of Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska and survival, evasion, resistance and escape training out of Fairchild Air Force Base west of Spokane, Washington. The wing also has operations in Texas, Alabama and North Carolina.
“Our enemies, their tactics are changing and they are reaching new levels of readiness we haven’t seen in decades,” Allen said. “We’ll sharpen our own skills, we’ll adapt, innovate, we’ll transform our training as necessary.”
Allen, a graduate of New Mexico State University, is coming to Albuquerque from Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi, where he was the deputy commander of the 81st Training Wing.
He will take over for Graham, who led the wing for two years. Graham’s next post will be executive officer to the commanding general.
Maj. Gen. Clark Quinn, the commander of the 19th Air Force, credited Graham during the ceremony for graduating 30,000 students from 116 courses during Graham’s time as wing commander.
He said that Allen is embarking on a fulfilling assignment.
“I’m fairly certain it will be one of the most rewarding assignments of your career,” Quinn said.
The 58th SOW has more than 2,300 personnel and 73 aircraft. It trains about 16,000 survival students per year and 1,100 aircrew students.
“When our nation is called upon, this is the wing that answers that call,” Allen said.
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