Photo By 1st Lt. Melody Daniel | LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. - Brig. Gen. William Leahy assumed command of the...... read more read more
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Brig. Gen. William M. Leahy assumed command Jan. 8, 2023, of the Arkansas Air National Guard and its 1,800 Airmen assigned here, at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith, Ark., and Joint Force Headquarters at Camp Joseph T. Robinson in North Little Rock, Ark.
“We are so happy to have him on board,” said Maj. Gen. Kendall Penn, Arkansas’ adjutant general, at the ceremony.
The general said he reached out to Lt. Gen. Michael Loh, director of the Air National Guard, for recommendations, and Leahy’s name was first on the list. After a face-to-face interview, Penn made his decision to hire Leahy to command the state’s Air Guard force and lead it through an upcoming period of transition.
“The men and women of the Arkansas Air National Guard are our No. 1 priority,” Leahy said during the assumption of command ceremony.
A close second priority will be the changes on the horizon at both wings as new missions arrive in the coming years. The 188th Wing at Ebbing Air National Guard Base is preparing to host Singapore’s F-16 formal training unit and a Foreign Military Sales mission of up to 24 F-35 aircraft, while the 189th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base will begin prep work to start the transition from its C-130H aircrew training mission to a C-130J aircrew training mission, which is expected to be a multi-year project until the Air Force phases the legacy C-130H out of its inventory. Additionally, the 223rd Cyber Operations Squadron will convert from a training mission to an operational mission.
Leahy said he has great relationships with both wing commanders, as they all used to be A-10 pilots who “chased bad guys around Afghanistan” a decade ago.
Leahy earned his commission in 1997 through the Academy of Military Science, McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tenn.
He’s served in the Massachusetts Air National Guard and Indiana National Guard in various roles. He’s commanded at the squadron and group level. In his previous assignment he was the Director, Plans and Requirements, and Strategic Plans and Programs, Joint Force Headquarters, Indiana Air National Guard, Indianapolis, Ind.
He’s a command pilot with more than 3,500 hours, including more than 700 combat hours, in the A-10A/C and F-15A/B/C/D.
Leahy said being selected for this assignment is a coming home of sorts for his wife, Kimberly. She was born in Jacksonville when her parents were stationed here in the 1970s. Her dad was a C-130 maintainer.
| Date Taken: | 01.09.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 01.09.2023 10:48 |
| Story ID: | 436464 |
| Location: | ARKANSAS, US |
| Web Views: | 863 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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