Former Goodfellow student takes charge of wing

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Anne Gathua
  • 17th Training Wing Public Affairs
GOODFELLOW AFB, Texas --  Goodfellow Air Force Base hosted a change of command ceremony Wednesday, at the base parade grounds, officiated by Maj. Gen. Alfred Flowers, 2nd Air Force commander. 

Col. Thomas W. Geary, a former Goodfellow AFB intelligence student, took the reins as the 17th Training Wing commander, replacing Col. Richard Ayres, who will serve as the Director of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (A2),  Barksdale Air Force Base, Shreveport, La. Col. Ayres had commanded Team Goodfellow since March 2007. 

"My advice to Col. Geary is, take care of your Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Soldiers and they will take care of you," Gen. Flowers said. 

Before taking charge of Goodfellow, Col. Geary commanded the 692nd Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. Prior to his group command, he was the commander of the 608th Air Intelligence Squadron and Director of Intelligence for Eighth Air Force at Barksdale Air Force Base, La. Throughout his 21-year career, Col. Geary has served in leadership roles in the Defense Intelligence Agency, Air Combat Command, Space Command and the United States Pacific Command. 

"It is a privilege to take such a great command," said Col. Geary. "We have a great mission carried out by a great team and a great community of supporters like no other." 

Col. Geary was commissioned in 1988 as a distinguished graduate of the Reserve Officers Training Corps program at Norwich University in Northfield, Vt. He served in the missile operations career field for nearly five years as a Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile crew commander and instructor before transitioning to the intelligence career field. He completed Intelligence Training as a student with the 315th Training Squadron here from September 1993 to June 1994. 

Col. Geary has notched several remarkable educational and military achievements. He earned a master's degree in Business Management from Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass., as well as a Master of Strategic Studies at Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. He is a distinguished graduate of the Marine Corps Command and Staff College in Quantico, Va., and a graduate of the Joint and Combined Warfighting School, Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Va. 

Col. Geary was awarded a Legion of Merit decoration upon leaving his previous base. He has earned a Meritorious Service Medal with two oak-leaf clusters, a Joint Service Commendation Medal, an Air Force Commendation Medal, a Joint Service Achievement Medal with one oak-leaf cluster, a Joint Meritorious Unit Award with one oak-leaf cluster, and a Combat Readiness Medal with one oak-leaf cluster. 

"To the men and women of Team Goodfellow, everyday is an opportunity for us to work as a team doing great things for our nation," said Col. Geary. "Success awaits us as we continue taking on the opportunities ahead. You have my loyalty, my trust and my dedication. You deserve the best. I look forward to serving with you."