Sears takes reins of 14th FTW

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Chase Hedrick
  • 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  The new leader of the 14th Flying Training Wing took command of the unit in a formal ceremony June 27.

Col. Jim Sears was given command of the men and women of the BLAZE Team by 19th Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Mark Solo, only moments after the outgoing commander, Col. Barre Seguin, relinquished command in the military tradition.

"I am very proud and humbled to be here and be a member of what I can already tell in my first two days here is an extremely fine and excellent team that's doing great work for our nation," said Colonel Sears. "

The men and women of the BLAZE Team were in full-force at the event,

Colonel Sears was previously the Commander, 20th Operations Group Commander, 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw AFB, S.C.

"Thank you for the warm welcome we've received here at Columbus, we can't thank everyone more. We're just looking forward to getting in and learning what we do here at Columbus."

Sears said he looks forward to carrying on the base's tradition of producing the most pilots in the Air Force with the largest fleet of aircraft in the Air Force as continuing the base's relationship with the local community.

"I want to continue a lot of the work in finding ways to be more efficient in how it is we produce pilots, advance Airmen and feed the fight," "I like to talk about innovation a lot when I speak with Airmen and other people because anyone who tells me that this is the way we've always done it is probably someone who needs to figure out a new way in this fiscal age that we live in today because we've got to be more responsible."

Colonel Sears was commissioned in 1991 as a graduate from the United States Air Force Academy.