Photo By Staff Sgt. Samuel Earick | U.S. Air Force Col. Kenneth Stremmel, the new NASIC commander, addresses the audience...... read more read more
WRIGHT-PATTERSON Air Force Base, Ohio--The National Air and Space Intelligence Center welcomed back Col. Kenneth Stremmel as he took command of the center during a change of command ceremony July 26, 2024, at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.
Stremmel most recently served as the director of intelligence for the Ninth Air Force (U.S. Air Forces Central), but prior to that he spent two years as a group commander here. He succeeds Col. Ariel Batungbacal, the outgoing NASIC commander, who led the center since June 2022.
During the ceremony, Lt. Gen. Leah Lauderback, deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and cyber effects operations, commended Batungbacal for her tenacious attitude and willingness to do what needs to be done.
“Ariel is the kind of forward-thinking leader who anticipates what needs to be done and quietly executes her mission. She solved problems before we even knew we had problems. She's a fire and forgive, empathetic servant leader who demonstrates her commitment to our nation, to keep her commitment to you, to her people. She is exactly the kind of leader that NASIC needed, and the center is better for it,” said Lauderback. “Lucky for me, is that Ariel is coming to work for me.”
Batungbacal, who was recently confirmed as a brigadier general select, will next serve as the director of ISR operations. As she said her farewell to NASIC, she shared how the center made her command fulfilling and successful.
“We held ourselves responsible for doing our part within the joint force and intelligence community,” Batungbacal said. “We inspired ourselves to elevate every facet of our ability to produce the most accurate, decisive relevant intelligence, to be bold and to be relentless, to never stop trying and to try and try again to be so bold to discover what others might think impossible.”
As the ceremony went on, Lauderback emphasized the importance of the traditional event – not only to the participants but to the organization as well.
“You get to hear for the first time the inbound commander's thoughts, how that person might be,” Lauderback said. “Listen to Col. Stremmel – his vision, his tenor, how it is that he will command in the future. This is your first opportunity to get to hear that. This is about you. This is about this organization, and how it is that Col. Stremmel is going to lead you to greater heights.”
After accepting the guidon and officially becoming the commander of NASIC, Stremmel addressed the workforce, emphasizing the importance of the center and the urgency that NASIC needs.
“We are truly in an era of great power competition and the need for NASIC’s scientific and technical expertise has never been more urgent than it is right now,” Stremmel said. “While I’ve been out, I know the center has been accelerating across so many fronts...I am ready to get up to speed quickly so that we can together accelerate even faster and make our Air Force and Joint Force even more lethal.”
As the NASIC commander, Stremmel will be responsible for operating the $1.8 billion center with its four groups, five directorates and 17 squadrons. Managing an annual budget of more than $747 million, he will lead nearly 3,800 personnel providing a broad range of integrated, tailored assessments, products and services to joint operational forces, national policymakers and the acquisition community.
| Date Taken: | 07.26.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.26.2024 10:21 |
| Story ID: | 479397 |
| Location: | WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, OHIO, US |
| Web Views: | 54 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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