U.S. Air Forces in Europe honor guard present the colors during the 86th Airlift Wing change-of-command ceremony at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. Brig. Gen. Richard Moore took over command of the wing from Brig. Gen. Jon Thomas. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
U.S. Air Forces in Europe honor guard present the colors during the 86th Airlift Wing change-of-command ceremony at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. Brig. Gen. Richard Moore took over command of the wing from Brig. Gen. Jon Thomas. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Lt. Gen. Timothy Ray, 3rd Air Force commander, speaks during the 86th Airlift Wing change-of-command ceremony at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Brig. Gen. Jon Thomas, outgoing 86th Airlift Wing commander, speaks during the wing's change-of-command ceremony at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
A formation presents Brig. Gen. Jon Thomas with a final salute during the 86th Airlift Wing's change-of-command ceremony at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Brig. Gen. Jon Thomas, outgoing 86th Airlift Wing commander, relinquishes command during the wing's change-of-command ceremony at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Brig. Gen. Richard Moore, incoming 86th Airlift Wing commander, assumes command during the wing's change-of-command ceremony at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Brig. Gen. Richard Moore, 86th Airlift Wing commander, delivers his first salute during the wing's change-of-command ceremony at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Audience members listen to remarks by Brig. Gen. Richard Moore, 86th Airlift Wing commander, during the wing's change-of-command ceremony at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Brig. Gen. Richard Moore, 86th Airlift Wing commander, speaks during the wing's change-of-command ceremony at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Brig. Gen. Richard Moore's name is unveiled on a C-130 during the 86th Airlift Wing's change-of-command ceremony at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. Moore is the new wing commander. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
From left, 3rd Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Timothy Ray sings the Air Force song with Brig. Gen. Jon Thomas, and Brig. Gen. Richard Moore at the end of the 86th Airlift Wing change-of-command ceremony at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. Moore succeeds Thomas as the wing's commander. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — Brig. Gen. Richard G. Moore Jr. assumed command Wednesday of the 86th Airlift Wing, taking charge of the Air Force’s largest wing in Europe from Brig. Gen. Jon T. Thomas, who was on the job for only 14 months.
Thomas, whose departure was likely hastened by his nomination in April for a second star, leaves Thursday for his new assignment as the director of strategic plans, requirements and programs at Air Mobility Command headquarters at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.
Moore, a transport and tanker pilot, comes to Ramstein from the Pentagon, where he held two separate staff jobs at Air Force headquarters since October 2014.
He takes command of some 8,500 airmen as the wing prepares for some big changes. In about three years, as part of the European Infrastructure Consolidation, Ramstein is expected to begin welcoming more than a dozen KC-135s and about 750 airmen and their families from RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom. His command also coincides with the ongoing construction of the new hospital outside Ramstein’s east gate, which eventually will be connected to the base via a bridge.
“I will ask you to work tirelessly every day to find better, faster, safer and smarter ways of doing your jobs” and accomplishing the mission, Moore told airmen at the ceremony. In turn, Moore said he promised to provide the resources they needed for success.
Although Thomas’ tenure was shorter than the two- to three-year assignments typical for wing commanders, he was credited with having a hand in a number of significant issues and changes, at both the local and larger, strategic level.
He organized the wing’s first exercise in many years focused on defending the base from a conventional air attack, and made a number of improvements to living conditions.
Lt. Gen. Timothy Ray, 3rd Air Force commander and the presiding official at the wing’s change-of-command ceremony, underscored Thomas’ leadership in the days after hundreds of military dependents were evacuated from southern Turkey because of growing violence there. Ramstein quickly had to prepare to receive the families after the March 31 ordered departure, either as they were en route back to the States or, in the case of about 250 family members, remained in the Kaiserslautern area until the end of the school year.
“This wing absolutely crushed it,” Ray said. “It was a stellar display of teamwork and support.”
Events in the Middle East kept Thomas and the wing busy. He deployed assets to eastern Turkey in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, establishing a bare-bones base from which U.S. Central Command conducted personnel recovery missions supporting combat operations in Syria and Iraq, according to the citation from the Legion of Merit award presented to Thomas during the ceremony. Thomas also led the deployment of Hellfire missiles to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, enabling the first remotely-piloted aircraft strike operations launched from Turkey against the Islamic State group, the citation said.
Thomas also cleaned up base neighborhoods in the Kaiserslautern Military Community, directing that bulk trash pickup be eliminated, in response to the improper dumping of garbage that had gone on for years on base.
Residents would dump trash if the underground refuse receptacles were full or leave bulk items sitting out for days.
“Our neighborhoods became dumping grounds, so I said ‘We’re not going to do it anymore,’” Thomas said in an interview earlier this week.
Given the current threat environment in Europe, Thomas emphasized precautions necessary to safeguard against terrorist attacks.
“We’ve seen signs of that all across Europe. I think we’re prepared for that. We practice; we’ve been doing it since 9/11 really, really hard.”
But Thomas also stressed the need to be prepared for other types of attacks: The wing practiced in April for the first time in decades “what we might do if – just if – if there was a conventional air attack,” Thomas said.
“Europe was an oasis of peace for many, many years after the Cold War, and it was awesome,” he said, but that all changed following Russia’s incursion into Ukraine in 2014.
“If you were a conventionally armed opponent and you wanted to do something about American air power in Europe, this piece of real estate is probably pretty important to you,” he said, referring to Ramstein Air Base.
