Command of the 62nd Airlift Wing at McChord Field will change hands from Col. Erin M. Staine-Pyne to Col. David A. Fazenbaker next month.
Fazenbaker is currently the vice commander of the 14th Flying Training Wing at the Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi.
Fazenbaker entered the Air Force from ROTC in 1999, and he served at McChord Field as the 10th Airlift Squadron commander from 2013 to 2014.
It was then that he penned a commentary, discussing the Air Force's Back to Basic's concept advocated by then Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Mark A. Welsh III.
To get to know him a little, here is what Fazenbaker wrote.
"So what does (Back to Basics) actually mean?
"To me, it means looking at every task I accomplish - every meeting and every process - then asking myself a simple question.
"Why?
"Why do I accomplish that task? Why is this meeting important? Why is a particular process done a certain way? Is it required by an Air Force instruction? Is it something your predecessor did, so you feel you have to also?
"Understanding why we do things is the basis for identifying new processes and new ideas to improve the way we accomplish our mission.
"The budgetary limitations Welsh spoke of are upon us and they will continue over the foreseeable future. As it always has been, it is our job to be good stewards of the resources we have. This is not about finding ways to do more with less; it is actually about finding ways to do less with less.
"We do less by finding the tasks that are essential in our jobs and by amending existing processes or developing new ones to meet our requirements. We find these opportunities for improvement by continuing to be who we are and experts in what we do.
"If you're an expert in your career field, continue to be that expert. If you're just starting your Air Force career, strive to be that expert. Learn your job and how to do it the best you can. Ask the "why" questions. Go back to basics and continue to make a difference."
Fazenbaker will take over from Staine-Pyne June 15 at 10 a.m. which will be live-streamed on Facebook here: www.facebook.com/62AirliftWing.