JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. -- Hundreds of family, friends and members of Team McChord gathered together in person and virtually to welcome the new commander of the 62nd Airlift Wing during a change of command ceremony June 15, 2021, here.
Maj. Gen. Kenneth T. Bibb Jr., 18th Air Force commander, introduced Col. David Fazenbaker as the newest commander of the 62nd AW.
“[Col. Fazenbaker is] the right leader at the right place at the right time,” Bibb said. “To the Airman of the 62nd Airlift Wing, your incoming commander has a long and distinguished list of accomplishments that uniquely qualify him to lead you.”
As commander of the 62nd AW, Fazenbaker will ensure the readiness of more than 2,400 active duty military and civilian personnel and 40 C-17 Globemaster IIIs. He is also the Air Force senior service component commander and represents approximately 7,000 total force Airmen to the Joint Base Partnership Council.
“It is truly my honor to serve beside you,” Fazenbaker said. “Some of your accomplishments have already been discussed, but we know there are so many more we could list, and there will be many more to come.”
Fazenbaker assumed command of 62nd AW from Col. Erin Staine-Pyne, who is heading to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Staine-Pyne thanked the men and women of the 62nd AW for their hard work during her tenure. She also praised Fazenbaker during her speech.
“Faze is a genuine and longtime friend,” Staine-Pyne said. “It’s not often that you get to hand over something that you’ve invested your whole heart into so heavily, to somebody you know will absolutely care for it and make it better.”
Prior to coming to the 62nd AW, Fazenbaker was the vice commander of the 14th Flying Training Wing at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, and has served in the Air Force since 1999.
This is Fazenbaker’s third assignment at McChord Field, having been the 62nd AW wing executive officer and C-17A evaluator aircraft commander from May 2004 to October 2007, and the 10th Airlift Squadron commander from March 2013 to September 2014.
As a command pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours, Fazenbaker has experience flying T-37 Tweets, T-1 Jayhawks and C-17 Globemaster IIIs.
“Our continued efforts will be the key to our victory,” Fazenbaker said. “Thank you for what you do every single day. I look forward to working for you.”
The mission of the 62nd AW is to execute global airlift, prepare for the demands of multi-domain operations in near-peer contested environments, and continually ensure force development.