News

Col. Todd Emmert assumes command of 436th MSG

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman James Bolinger
  • 436th AW Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Dover bid farewell to Col. Vic Sowers, the previous 436th Mission Support Group commander, during a change-of-command ceremony Aug. 15 at the Air Mobility Command Museum.

Col. Todd Emmert, 436th MSG commander, accepted command of the award-winning group from Col. Steven Harrison, 436th Airlift Wing commander and officiating officer for the ceremony.

"We've only had a chance to meet just a few of you sinse arriving last week but our first impression could not be better," said Colonel Emmert, after placing the Airmen of his group 'at ease.' "What strikes us most is the extraordinarily positive attitudes we've seen displayed by everyone we've met.

"It began with Senior Airman Alicia Westray working at the desk at billeting last Friday night, who after welcoming us to Dover asked if I knew that Dover was the best base in the Air Force," he said. "Now, after 31 years in our Air Force and PCSing 20 times or so and visiting the vast majority of bases at one time or another, I was wondering how this young Airman knew that Dover was in fact the Air Force's best base. But, after just a few days on the installation, I learned that Airman Westray was right. Dover may be the best base in the Air Force that I've ever seen."

Most recently, Colonel Emmert was the commander of Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corp Detachment 665, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, and a student at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces National Defense University, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C.

Colonel Emmert enlisted in the Air Force in 1977 and served as a Jet Engine Mechanic on active duty and later as a Flight Engineer in the Air Force Reserve. He was commissioned through the University of South Florida Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program in 1985 and has a Master of Business Administration from Golden Gate University, San Francisco, Calif.

"Colonel Sowers led the 436th Mission Support Group to amazing heights, helping Dover Air Force Base garner the 2008 Commander in Chief's Installation Excellence award, the first time an Air Mobility Command base has won the award since the formation of the award 24 years ago" said Colonel Harrison. "We needed the right person to follow this feat and lead the mission support group to even greater glory and Colonel Todd Emmert is that person.

"Todd, I would like to welcome you and your wife Phyllis to Dover," he said. "I know you two are the right team to lead this outstanding group of Airmen."

Colonel Sowers and his wife Pam are leaving Dover for the Pentagon.

"I'm clearly at the pinnacle of my career," said Colonel Sowers during his emotional farewell speech to the Airmen of the 436th MSG. "It will certainly never get better than I've had the last 25 months.

"To command is beyond words," said Colonel Sowers with a choked-up voice. "To do so when your nation is at war and see how magnificently our Airmen perform is even more special. Of course you only get here with lots of help ... previous commanders, supervisors, peers ... family sacrifice. Pam has been incredible these past two years and I hope to see a bit more of her in the next few.

"Wow! The best MSG in the world," he said. "We are the group of quiet professionals. We don't complain about how hard it is, about our deployment tempo, about our low manning ... we just do the mission. And we don't brag about it when we do good ... We know that in our business, you can't just be good sometimes. You have to be good all the time and you are!"