916th changes command
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on July 15, 2017 5:23 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Col. Scovill Currin, Jr. reacts as he takes command of the 916th Air Refueling Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base Saturday morning.
The 916th Air Refueling Wing is under new leadership.
Col. Scovill Currin assumed command of the wing from Col. Eric Jenkins at a change of command ceremony Saturday, formally taking the helm of the first Integrated Wing in Air Force history.
Major Gen. Randall Ogden, commander of the 4th Air Force, presided over the ceremony. He called Jenkins a "servant leader" who had carried the wing through the integration process and set it up to receive the KC-46 Pegasus refueling tankers later this year.
He applauded Jenkins for always putting his airmen ahead of himself, saying that Jenkins went as far as to turn down a job at the Pentagon in favor of leading airmen.
"The 916th is a much better place because of you, Eric," Ogden said. "Thank you for your service, and thank you for your friendship."
Jenkins took the stage after Ogden, and began by thanking his family and friends in attendance for their support. Speaking softly to the audience, he said that when he first arrived at Seymour Johnson, he figured his goal was to make changes to the 916th.
That, he said, turned out to be incorrect. All he needed to do was help the airmen remember who they are.
"I think you forgot that you fly more hours than anyone else in the ARC, in any of the big airplanes," he said. "I think you forgot that you're the first reserve wing in North Carolina. I think you forgot that you're the first associate wing in the United States Air Force.
"But I think you remember now."
Jenkins closed by walking across the stage to where his mother sat, addressing her directly.
"Ma, you've been telling me for years that I need to keep good company," he said, gesturing out over the assembled 916th airmen. "Well here you go."
That drew a round of applause from the audience, and after a final salute, Jenkins handed the guidon to Ogden, who then presented it to Currin.
Soon after, Currin addressed the audience for the first time as wing commander. He thanked Mayor Chuck Allen and City Manager Scott Stevens for their continued support of the base, which he said is part of what sets Seymour Johnson apart.
"Our reserve airmen, unlike their active duty counterparts, can choose any base they want," he said. "Literally hundreds of options, yet they chose here, they chose Goldsboro, because of how we are treated."
Like Jenkins, he listed off the wing's accomplishments and said that reservists like those in the 916th deal with unique challenges.
"This wing is home to the most inspiring and motivating airmen I have ever seen," he said. "Our reserve airmen have to balance not just their military duties and their families, but they have to balance military duties, their families and their full-time civilian employment."
Currin said that he and his family would put "every bit of energy" they had into making sure the airmen are taken care of. He closed by laying out what he believes are the two things all airmen want.
"They want to know that someone cares about them," he said. "They want to know, number two, they want to know that their work matters. That their daily sacrifices are worth something."