WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, MA – 

The 439th Airlift Wing senior leadership changed hands June 8 when Col. Robert R. Swain Jr., took command of Westover’s host unit.  

Colonel Swain comes to Westover from 22nd Air Force headquarters at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga., where he was chief of staff. This numbered Air Force Reserve Command unit comprises more than 26,000 Air Force Reservists and has 149 unit-equipped aircraft. The 24 flying squadrons and more than 225 support units that comprise 22nd Air Force are spread throughout 23 states.  

The new commander replaced Brig. Gen. Wade Farris, who is moving to the Pentagon and will be the deputy director, Joint Chiefs of Staff strategy development, strategic plans and policy directorate.  

A command pilot with more than 14,000 hours of flying time, including 51 combat missions over Southwest Asia, Colonel Swain was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina. He is an Air Force Academy graduate, and has been in the Air Force since 1979.  

He holds a place in Air Force history as having the first air-to-air kill in an A-10 Thunderbolt II, when he downed an Iraqi helicopter during Operation Desert Storm. His aircraft, “chopper popper,” is on permanent display at the United States Air Force Academy. Colonel Swain has commanded an Air Force Reserve fighter wing, two expeditionary fighter squadrons and one expeditionary group during Operation Northern/Southern Watch and Operation Enduring Freedom.  

General Farris took command of the 439th AW in August 2003 after serving as wing commander for the 914th Airlift Wing at Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, N.Y. Under his leadership, hundreds of Westover reservists have helped the active-duty Air Force meets its worldwide challenges in support of the Global War on Terror. In addition, the wing earned the Air Force Outstanding Unit twice during his tenure as commander – for the 439th’s accomplishments from October 2001 to Sept. 30, 2003, and from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2007.