Change of Command: Moody AFB says farewell to old commander, welcomes new commander
By Davis Cobb, Jul 7, 2023, Valdosta Daily Times

MOODY AIR FORCE BASE — Members of the 23rd Wing have bid farewell to their commander, but in doing so, welcomed a new commander to lead them.

Moody Air Force Base conducted a change of command ceremony July 6 to send off Col. Russell “Bones” Cook and hand off his position and duty as commander of the 23rd Wing, home of the “Flying Tigers,” to incoming commander Col. Paul Sheets.

Cook served as the commander of the wing for two years and had previously overseen the 563rd Operations Support Squadron and the 83rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron as their commander, acted as an advisor to the Iraqi Air Force, and has more than 3,000
hours flying multiple aircrafts.

Sheets previously served as the vice commander of the 355th Wing at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona and will bring with him experience as chief of strategy for the 612th Air Force Operations Center, multiple combat deployments supporting
Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, Inherent Resolve and Hurricane Katrina, and more than 2,700 flight hours as a command pilot in the HH-60G, HH-60W, HC-130J, UH-1H and T-37.

The change of command was conducted within the 23rd Wing’s Fuels Barn, where the two colonels stood before the Flying Tigers, as well as friends, family and loved ones, to commemorate the transfer of leadership.

Major Gen. Michael Kosheski, commander of the 15th Air Force, presided over the ceremony, offering his farewells to Cook while welcoming Sheets. He said Cook had more than lived up to the name and legacy of the Flying Tigers, honoring the original all-
volunteer group of aviators that helped fend off the Japanese invasion of China during World War II and carrying their mission onto the present – not only through his unwavering spirit and capable leadership but his drive for innovation.

He said he is confident Sheets will lead the 23rd Wing well, citing both his extensive experience and understanding of balance between work and personal life as particular qualities that would make him an effective commander.

As a final congratulations for his dedication to the 23rd Wing, Kosheski awarded Cook with the Legion of Merit, first oak leaf cluster, before inviting the colonel to share his thoughts.

Barely able to contain his emotion, Cook expressed his gratitude to the airmen who served under his command, admitting it had always been his dream to be among the Flying Tigers. The possibility of joining them someday had on numerous occasions, he said,
been the motivator keeping him in the Air Force.

He thanked the various staff and officers at Moody AFB, as well as community liaisons Dr. Lucy Greene and her late husband, Parker Greene, insisting the Greenes were both one of a kind, and Chief Master Sgt. Justin Geers, command chief of the 23rd Wing,
for putting up with his “Bones caffeine-fueled circus.”

Cook also thanked the local community of Valdosta and Lowndes County for its support of Moody, asserting that the city would always be his and his family’s home and their relationship with the Air Force base would ensure it remains there for a very
long time.

“It started with a couple of farmers and locals who decided they needed a base down here at the beginning of World War II,” Cook said. “That spirit resonates today; thank you guys so much for what you do.”

To mark the end of his tenure as commander of the 23rd Wing, the outgoing commander was given one final salute by his troops. Then, with the aid of Geers presenting the guidon with the flag of the 23rd Wing, the change of command took place.

The flag was passed from Cook to Kosheski, then from him to Sheets, officially naming him the new commander of the 23rd Wing.

When given the opportunity to speak, Sheets thanked the personnel and officers who made the ceremony possible, as well as his friends and loved ones and the airmen who had made the trip to commemorate the occasion, and confessed how good it felt to be
among the Flying Tigers.

In a parallel to Cook’s sendoff, he was given his first salute by his new division to welcome him to the position. The name on the wing’s HH-60W Jolly Green II was also changed during the ceremony, now bearing the name of the Flying Tigers’ newest
commander.

Cook will serve as senior special assistant to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

“War fighters will always stand above all others,” Cook said. “When everyone else has excuses, you guys have solutions, and I’ve seen it for the last two years. It’s real, it’s in our heritage, it’s who you are. Please don’t change,
please remember who you are. Never forget your critical mission: ‘Attack, Rescue, Prevail.’ For my last time – Tigers Lead.”

https://www.valdostadailytimes.com/news/change-of-command-moody-afb-says-farewell-to-old-commander-welcomes-new-commander/article_89c0adfa-1cd3-11ee-9ece-eba9164595c0.html

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