The 117th Air Control Squadron will host a change of command ceremony March 5, 2011 at 2:30 p.m. at the unit’s headquarters located at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah.  The unit, an element of the Georgia Air National Guard, has been on near constant active duty and deployment since September 11, 2001.

In the command ceremony the current commander, Lt. Col. Jon K. Alwood, will relinquish command to Lt. Col. Victor M. Long.

Lieutenant Col. Long joined 117th ACS in the spring of 1984.  He received his commission in September 1985 upon graduation from the Air National Guard’s Academy of Military Science, McGhee-Tyson Air National Guard Base, in Maryville, Tenn. 

During his many years in 117th ACS, he has deployed to several countries and participated in numerous military exercises, to include: Norway (1987), Turks and Caicos (1992), Kuwait – Operation Southern Watch (2001), Iraq – Operation Iraqi Freedom (2006), and Qatar – Operation Enduring Freedom (2010).

Lieutenant Col. Victor M. Long is a native of Savannah.  He and his family currently reside in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Contact: Master Sgt. Bucky Burnsed

Georgia Air National Guard

Phone: (912) 897-6185

Cell: (912) 713-4944