TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE — Col. Scott Crogg assumed command of the Air Reserve Component 44th Fighter Group — and a little piece of history — in a formal ceremony Saturday.
“Col. Crogg is the perfect warrior and leader we need to transition from Holloman to Tyndall,” said Col. John Breazeale, commander of the 301st Fighter Wing. “He knows how to successfully integrate our active and reserve components.”
The 44th FG, previously a detachment of the 301st FW at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., is the newest unit to be activated under the 325th Fighter Wing at Tyndall. The 325th FW began integration of the group earlier this year. Although geographically separated, the 44th FG still will operate under the 301st FW, now based at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base in Texas.
The movement is a part of ongoing base realignment. Relocation of the reserve unit to Tyndall is expected to trim costs for the Air Force and augment training and combat readiness for the 325th Fighter Wing.
“It saves money for our nation and provides experience and continuity (at Tyndall),” Crogg said.
Breazeale formally passed command of the new unit to Crogg before a small crowd of airmen and command leadership during the ceremony. The activation marks the final step for all units transitioning from Holloman.
The 44th FG, reactivated as a reserve unit in February 2010, operates a fleet of combat-coded F-22 Raptors.
The original 301st Fighter Squadronconnected to the 44th FG climbed to notoriety as one of four African-American fighter squadrons to enter combat in World War II. The famed group of pilots, dubbed the Red Tails, became well-known by beating the odds in their ability to survive sorties while escorting bombers on their way to strike enemy targets in Europe.
The 301st’s service lineage was active until 1992, when the wing’s name went dormant for 20 years. To date, it is the Air Force’s only fifth-generation fighter wing.
“This is the greatest thing going,” said 75-year-old Lowell Roberts. “We had to be here for this.”
Roberts and his wife, Jackie, traveled from Oklahoma City for the ceremony. Also on hand was George Washburn, 90, and wife Cynthia. Roberts and Washburn were a part of the second generation of the original 301st FS bomb group.
Roberts said he was proud to see the Red Tails legacy live on at Tyndall.
“It’s a very fitting heritage to integrate into the 325th Fighter Wing,” Breazeale said.
Crogg said he feels humble about his new responsibilities in leading the 44th FG. He promised to deliver top-notch support to 325th FW’s mission.
“I promise to be an asset when it is time to go to war or to train students,” Crogg said in an interview after the ceremony.
Base realignment and ever-changing command has seemed only to strengthen the commitment to carry on the group’s legacy.
“We’re one team. We’re Team Tyndall,” Crogg said.