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Mighty Ninety welcomes new commander

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Stacy Foster
  • 90th Missile Wing Public Affairs
F. E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. --  Col. Tracey Hayes assumed command of the 90th Missile Wing from Col. George Farfour on F. E. Warren's historic Argonne Parade Field in a change of command ceremony here June 17.

More than a thousand active-duty members, reservists, retirees, family and friends attended the event. Hundreds of Airmen participated in the pass-and-review during the 10 a.m. ceremony. Among the guests were commanders, command chiefs and civic leaders from the local community.

Unique to Warren's history, the official party members and their families arrived in a horse-drawn carriage to the parade field.

Maj. Gen. Michael Carey, 20th Air Force commander, presided over the ceremony. He wished Farfour and his family well, thanking them for their service and welcomed Hayes, Warren's first female wing commander, to the "best ICBM wing in Air Force Global Strike Command."

"This wing has a great track record of stellar performance," Carey said. "Many of the wing's accomplishments can be directly attributed to the work of Col. Farfour, and we wish him and his family continued success."

"The Air Force tends to pick the exact right person at the exact right time," Carey added. "There is no one better than Col. Hayes to lead this wing into the future. She has the intellect, backbone and is well prepared to lead."

After the acceptance of the wing guidon, Hayes expressed how excited she was to lead the Mighty Ninety and continue the longstanding community relationship with the city of Cheyenne.

"The foundation of our relationship with this community has grown since day one," she said. "We will continue to build upon that relationship with our friends off base and our friends on base."

Hayes spent the first seven years of her 22-year career in missile operations, serving as a crew commander, instructor, evaluator, flight commander, emergency war order instructor and chief of training. She also served on the Headquarters Air Force Space Command staff. Additionally, Hayes served as an exchange officer at Canada's National Defense Headquarters Directorate of Space Development in Ottawa, Ontario. She most recently served as vice commander of the 460th Space Wing at Buckley Air Force Base, Colo.

Hayes recognized the Mighty Ninety's stellar reputation and credited the hard work of the wing's Airmen and civilians as the driving force behind that tradition of success. She also charged the wing to continue to be the standard of excellence.

"Our effectiveness comes in the form of precise and awesome weaponry, but its excellence comes purely from the highly trained personnel like you in the 90th Missile Wing," Hayes said. "You are the cornerstone of our Nation's security."