Air Force announces change of incoming commander for Holloman

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. David Wagstaff
  • 49th Fighter Wing Publilc Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  The Air Force has decided a new incoming commander for the 49th Fighter Wing.

Col. Jeffrey L. Harrigian will be the one accepting the guidon from current commander Brig. Gen. David Goldfein on Jan. 11 at a change of command ceremony.

The change of the incoming commander from Col. Russ Handy to Colonel Harrigian was announced by Air Combat Command last week. The change resulted from a series of domino moves associated with filling overseas positions. Colonel Harrigian will come to Holloman from Langley Air Force Base, Va., where he has served as the vice commander of the 1st Fighter Wing since June 2007.

"Colonel Harrigian was handpicked by both Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. T. Michael Moseley and ACC commander Gen. John Corley," General Goldfein said. "Colonel Handy will be taking command of the 57th Fighter Wing at Nellis."

Colonel Harrigian said he and his family are looking forward to getting back to New Mexico and to the beautiful outdoors where they can "get out" and ski or run with their German shorthair pointers.

"My family and I are really excited to return to Holloman AFB and the Fightin' 49ers," he said. "Having been stationed at Holloman before, we know the area and how friendly the people who live there are. We're looking forward to getting back and getting started."

His recent assignments include chief of the Joint Exercise Division, Stavanger, Norway; commander, 43rd Fighter Squadron, Tyndall AFB, Fla.; and operations officer, 95th Fighter Squadron, Tyndall AFB, Fla.

His experience with the F-22A while serving as the commander for the 43rd Fighter Squadron at Tyndall made him a logical choice to come to Holloman and lead the 49th Fighter Wing as they transition from the F-117A to the F-22A.

"I was fortunate enough to stand up the 43rd Fighter Squadron at Tyndall when it received its first F-22," the Air Force Academy graduate said. "This experience helped me to understand the intricacies of bringing a new weapon system to a base. It truly is a team effort ... from infrastructure and manning, to coordinating with our local community, it takes all of us to be successful. I have no doubt that Team Holloman will use all of the lessons learned from previous bed-downs to make this the smoothest, most effective transition yet."

Colonel Harrigian received the Purple Heart as a member of the 58th Fighter Squadron, 33rd Fighter Wing, Eglin AFB, Fla., while he was stationed at Khobar, Saudi Arabia, in 1996. He was injured in the bombing of the Khobar Towers while his squadron lost 12 Airmen.

Additional decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Air Medal, Aerial Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, and the Air Force Achievement Medal.

Colonel Harrigian is a command pilot with more than 3,700 hours of flight time in the F-22A, F-15A through F-15D, and A/OA-37. He has flown combat missions during Operations Just Cause and Desert Storm.

Having served Holloman since June 2006, General Goldfein will take over as the Deputy Chief of Staff, Strategic Plans and Programs, for Headquarters United States Air Force at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. He leaves the 49th Fighter Wing with the distinction of being the last Bandit (pilot), number 708, of the F-117A stealth fighter and having served as the commander during the 25th anniversary and 250,000 flying hours of the F-117A.

If you have any further questions, please contact the 49 FW Public Affairs office at 505-572-5406.