Photo By Debora Henley | U.S. Air Force Maj. Crystal Lusardi official photo taken on Apr. 16, 2024. (U.S. Air...... read more read more
The 505th Communications Squadron welcomed Maj. Crystal Lusardi and said farewell to Lt. Col. Alex Botardo, during a change of command ceremony at Hurlburt Field, Florida, June 14, 2024.
The change of command is a military tradition, representing a formal transfer of a unit’s authority and responsibility from one commander to another. Col. Robert Smith, 505th Combat Training Group commander, presided over the ceremony.
Smith thanked Botardo for his leadership of the 505th CS, known as the Flyin’ Lions.
“Lt. Col. Botardo has led one of the few operational communication squadrons in the Air Force. His team built the networks that made it possible for large-scale exercises to be successful in training our forces for Great Power Competition. Alex’s teams are among the most resilient, innovative, and consistent, and they single-handedly ensured the infrastructure success for the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center’s exercise Bamboo Eagle,” said Smith. “His leadership will surely be missed as he prepares for retirement.”
In transitioning to Lusardi, Smith shared how her previous leadership role had prepared her for her first command.
“Maj. Lusardi has proven herself as the 89th Communications Squadron director of operations at Joint Base Andrews. She was instrumental in directing the operations, maintenance, and cyber defense of the airborne Senior Leader Command, Control, and Communications System in support of the President, Vice President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other senior leaders. Crystal is the right leader at the right time to take the 505th Communications Squadron to the next level and deliver premier relevant cyber systems and services to enable C2 [command and control] exercises, training, testing, and evaluations for the Air Force.”
Before relinquishing command, Botardo thanked the men and women of the 505th CS for their dedication to the mission.
“I want to express my profound gratitude to the men and women of the 505th Communications Squadron for their unwavering dedication to our mission. They have consistently demonstrated exceptional commitment, from routine in-house innovation to IT [information technology] modernization ensuring our communications systems are promptly available for emerging missions like exercise Bamboo Eagle,” said Botardo. “The success of my tenure as squadron commander is entirely due to the professionalism and expertise of the Flyin’ Lions. They are true force multipliers, and their skills and capabilities are more crucial than ever during this time of Great Power Competition; it was truly an honor to serve alongside them.”
After 30 years of faithful service in the U.S. Air Force, Botardo will retire and move to Tampa, Florida.
The 505th CS operates and maintains C2 systems and multiple networks and provides various modeling and simulation capabilities in support of joint and coalition training, exercises, training, and experimentation at Hurlburt Field, Florida, and multiple sites across the globe. The squadron designs, builds, sustains, and maintains a network backbone supporting 289,000 warfighters annually.
Maj. Lusardi’s previous assignment was the director of operations, 89th Communications Squadron, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. In this capacity, she directed the operations and maintenance of a squadron with 190 members and three geographically separated units, executing global communications systems supporting the President of the United States & other senior leaders. She also oversaw the Executive Airlift Communications Network supporting 103 distinguished visitor aircraft, global Presidential satellite communications, or SATCOM, and line of sight systems, and the Department of Defense's only High Frequency system supporting nuclear force direction.
Addressing the 505th CS for the first time as commander, Lusardi said, “I am deeply honored and humbled to ‘get to’ assume command of the 505th Communications Squadron, and contribute to the unique mission sets of the 505th Command and Control Wing and 505th Combat Training Group. I use the term ‘get to’ because I recognize it as a privilege and an opportunity to serve alongside such dedicated and seasoned professionals.”
Lusardi continued, “To my squadron, I want to say that I’m ready to lead with integrity, empathy, and a commitment to excellence. I can’t wait to be a part of the Flyin’ Lions family; it’s where I belong—every step in my Air Force journey has led me here and I couldn't be more grateful or filled with purpose. I hold immense respect and admiration for the unit’s past achievements and am eager to build upon them as we advance our mission together!”
| Date Taken: | 06.14.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.18.2024 10:55 |
| Story ID: | 474256 |
| Location: | HURLBURT FIELD, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 37 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Lusardi takes command of the 505th CS, by Debora Henley, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
Command and Control
