183d Wing Marks 'Change of Command' with Ceremony
For Col. John Patterson, time really does fly.
Since first enlisting in the 183d Tactical Fighter Group in May 1980, Patterson has logged more than 3,900 flight hours, including 175 combat hours. He has been based in Springfield since 1987 and has served as commander of the 183d Wing, a unit of the Illinois Air National Guard, since 2014.
"Time really does fly, we talk about it all the time, especially when you do get a chance to fly," Patterson said. "But it went really fast. All the people that told me when I was a kid 'hey, life is short' and all that stuff, they're right."
After more than 39 years of military service, Patterson is set to retire December 3. With that pending date near, a change of command ceremony was held Saturday afternoon at the base, located on the grounds of Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport. During the ceremony, command of the wing was passed from Patterson to Col. Donald Carpenter, who has served as vice commander since September 2018.
"So we're all responsible to be caretakers of the wing while we're here, so it was handed to me in great shape and I'd like to think we've improved upon it during my time here," Patterson said.
The base had a flying mission for nearly 60 years until it was assigned non-flying missions following the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission. Since the last F-16 Falcons left the base in 2008, the 183d has served as a centralized repair facility providing major maintenance and repair work on jet engines, and as home to an air operations group, which plans and oversees air missions.
Brig. Gen. Peter Nezamis, commander of the Illinois Air National Guard, credited Patterson for helping guide the wing through the reassignment.
"Many of you were affected by the BRAC in this room," Nezamis said. "And John, you pushed and mentored over 400 people, told them to stay in the game, help them stay here where different passions could be found with what they wanted to do. And that's to be commended because many senior leaders like yourself ... would say, well, I'm going to go aviate someplace else. But he stayed here."
Carpenter commended Patterson "for years of service and progress made here in Springfield" while pledging to keep it up himself.
"The 183d will continue to be momentum makers and not momentum breakers," Carpenter said.
Contact Brenden Moore: 788-1526, [email protected], twitter.com/brendenmoore13.
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