179th Airlift Wing welcomes new commander

The new commander of the 179th Airlift Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard enlisted in the national guard in 1986 while still a student at Clear Fork High School.

A change of command ceremony was held Friday at the 179th Airlift Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard base.

Col. Darren E. Hamilton will transition the base to the new cyber wing mission.

"The flying missions will go away, which is tough for a lot of us," Hamilton said after the ceremony in Hangar 409 before a packed crowd.

"But we keep a mission. We keep the doors open. We keep recruiting people for futures in cyber. A lot of good jobs will come of it. A lot of good training for folks," he said.

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Flight was his destiny

Hamilton said he always knew he wanted to be a pilot, ever since he was a young kid.

"Bill Hunt was a crew chief out here years ago and he brought my grandfather and me out when I was a small child," Hamilton said. "Ever since I was little I wanted to fly airplanes."

Hamilton, former corporate pilot for Gorman Rupp and a former airline pilot, said the Mansfield wing is an "awesome wing with a great culture and great people."

"We've gone through a lot of changes but we'll get through this one and be the best cyber wing if that's our future in future years," Hamilton said.

Col. Todd K. Thomas retired and relinquished command of the 179th Airlift Wing to Hamilton at 3 p.m. on the air national guard base at Mansfield Lahm Airport, 1947 Harrington Memorial Road.

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The journey through the ranks

Hamilton joined the 179th Airlift Wing in 1986, assigned as a crew chief on the C-130B aircraft. He attended training to become a C-130 flight engineer in 1989. He graduated from Kent State University in 1992 with a bachelor of science degree in aerospace technology.

Hamilton was awarded distinguished graduate of the Academy of Military Science in 1994. He attended undergraduate pilot training at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, followed by C-130 flight training at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas.

He returned to the 179th Airlift Wing as a traditional guardsman.

He has served as a corporate pilot, airline pilot and as a dual status military technician with the 179th in a multitude of roles to include flight safety officer, training officer, assistant operations officer, and 164th Airlift Squadron commander.

He served as the Joint Force Headquarters Director of Operations Ohio (A3) before returning as the 179th Operations group commander.

He participated in Operations Restore Hope, Southern Watch, Joint Forge, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and Freedom Sentinel. He is a command pilot with over 5,000 hours in the T-41, T-37, T-38, C-130 B/E/H and C-27J aircraft.

He was surrounded by his wife Terri and their four children, Will, Evan, Wade and Amelia. Hamilton's many relatives including his mother, Betty Hamilton of Bellville, attended the ceremony along with his in-laws Bill Schmidt and his wife.

Thomas retires after distinguished career

Remarks were made by Brig Gen Gary McCue, who is deputy assistant adjutant general-Air, and a former commander of the 179th; and Thomas, who celebrated his retirement after 33 years service following the ceremony.

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Thomas, a command pilot with more than 6,200 hours of flight time (including 465 combat hours) in the T-37, T-38, C-27J and C-130H aircraft, said he truly believes Hamilton is absolutely the right person at the right time and he couldn't be happier for the unit.

McCue presented the Legion of Merit to Thomas for exceptional, meritorious conduct to the United States, who also has numerous family members including his wife and two sons in attendance.

lwhitmir@gannett.com

419-521-7223

Twitter: @LWhitmir

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: 179th welcomes new commander during change of command ceremony