GAF FTC welcomes new commander

  • Published
  • By the German Air Force Flying Training Center Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  The German Air Force Flying Training Center said farewell to its outgoing commander, Col. Frank Kiesel, at a change of command ceremony during the week of July 2-6, and welcomed the incoming commander, Col. Armin Havenith.

The commander of the German Air Force Command United States and Canada, Col. Heinz-Josef Ferkinghoff, welcomed the new commander at the training center's helm.

Havenith, an experienced pilot with more than 2,000 flying hours, is the GAF FTC's sixth commander. The general staff officer's most recent position was as the German Air Force Command's chief of the policy and concepts section in Cologne, prior to commencing further Tornado training in October 2011 and successfully completing his Tornado Instructor Course in June.

The new commander's ambitions and goals, besides shaping the future structure of the GAF FTC, are to get ready for the currently planned Eurofighter jets and commence training operations in 2017, which also include the Alamogordo community.

"The German airmen and their families are finding a home here in the Tularosa Basin. You can take my word that I will do all I can to continue our already excellent relationship with the U.S. Air Force and the local community," Havenith said.

In the presence of the guests, the Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Klaus-Jochen Gühlcke, and Susie Galea, mayor of Alamogordo, N.M., as well as the lineup of soldiers of the GAF FTC, Heinz-Josef Ferkinghoff paid tribute to the outgoing commander by praising Kiesel's personal dedication and commitment during the past two-and-a-half years.

"With your outstanding leadership qualifications and care about your soldiers, you achieved remarkable results," Ferkinghoff said. "Under your management skills, training courses were successfully conducted and got finished on time. But more importantly, you always placed the center of gravity where it belongs - flight safety. You made me feel comfortable down south in El Paso (Texas) with your outstanding leadership. I didn't worry a second."

Kiesel took positive stock of his command assignment in the U.S. There was a hint of melancholy joined by pride when he looked back on this period of his life.

"The past two-and-a-half years were professionally for me and personally for my family and me, one of the most rewarding periods of my career. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lead such a professional group of men and women," the outgoing commander said.

In a farewell speech that professed a strong personal note, he again stated what makes this training center one-of-a-kind within all of the German Air Force. He particularly emphasized the excellent and smooth teamwork within the force. It is only through a joint effort that the necessary enthusiasm, motivation and professionalism can be mustered to master and successfully complete the mission.

He praised the professional work performed by all members of the GAF FTC by saying, "It fills me with pride that I was granted the opportunity to be your commander for the past years."

Kiesel will return to Germany to assume a position with the German Armed Forces Verification Center in Geilenkirchen.