386th EOG welcomes new commander

Published July 6, 2010
By Staff Sgt. Stefanie Torres
386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Col. Mark Czelusta, who has led the 386th Expeditionary Operations Group to new heights of mission effectiveness during the past year, relinquished command to Col. Scott Brewer in a change-of-command ceremony at an undisclosed base here July 6.

The ceremony was presided over by 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Commander Col. Patrick Mordente, who opened his comments by recalling a quote from a U.S. Army brigade commander who had total confidence in the Airmen of the 386th to safely move his Soldiers anywhere they need to go.

" 'Whatever you do, put my soldiers on those (386th) C-130s,' " Colonel Mordente recalled the commander saying. " 'They are always there, they don't mess around and they don't beat up my people the way they fly.' "

The brigade commander's quote was one of the highlights of Colonel Czelusta's tour, explained Colonel Mordente, because it paid tribute to the unsurpassed dedication of the 386th EOG Airmen, who accomplish the mission no matter what the circumstances.

"That one quote sums up how this organization stands up above all others," Colonel Mordente told an audience of more than 100 Airmen in the Base Theater. "It's about integrity, the commitment to excellence and service before self. "

Colonel Czelusta said he used his own "core principles" to guide his team in the EOG - mission, standards and relationships. He makes no apologies for high standards and believes that any mission is pointless without partnerships, he explained. This was especially important when working with Coalition partners over the past year.

"The days were long, and some missions lasted longer than 16 hours," he said. "But the folks on the ground needed that. No worries; that's what we do. Our Coalition partners need to know that we are there for them when they need us. We are. We will be."

For his dedication to duty and meritorious service while serving as EOG commander here, Colonel Czelusta received a Bronze Star Medal. Faced with the simultaneous activities of supporting the responsible drawdown in Iraq and current operations in Afghanistan, he and his group provided more than 150 additional airlift sorties to multiple locations in Afghanistan and throughout Southwest Asia while causing no impact to previously committed missions for Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to the citation. In his year as commander of the 386th EOG, Colonel Czelusta also provided leadership to more than 800 rotational Airmen, attaining the group's highest operational effectiveness to date.

"The 386th has averaged launching an aircraft every 52 minutes, 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the past year," Colonel Mordente noted. "They transported the equivalent of the entire population of the city of Abilene, Texas, times three. They did this while maintaining a near-perfect operational effectiveness rate."

Under Colonel Czelusta's leadership, the EOG has flown more than 10,000 sorties, carried more than 300,000 passengers, airlifted more than 8,500 tons of cargo and played a key role in the removal of approximately 135 of America's enemies, Colonel Mordente added.

After accepting the EOG guidon from Colonel Mordente to symbolize the change of command, the group's new commander, Colonel Brewer, expressed his desire to continue the mission in the same tradition as his predecessor.

"I have one primary focus as your new commander, and that's our mission," he said. "I appreciate your sacrifices, and especially those of your families. I am proud to be joining the team, and I know together we will be making a difference."

Colonel Brewer's career includes a variety of special operations and airlift assignments. He most recently served as a National Security Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he researched, wrote and spoke on issues of immediate or ongoing concern to the Department of Defense and the nation. Prior to that, he served as commander of the 573rd Global Support Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, Calif.

Colonel Brewer earned his commission through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps after obtaining a bachelor's degree in computer science from Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas.

He is a command pilot with 4,600 hours of flight time, primarily in C-130 variant aircraft.