Colonel Beebe assumes command

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Kevin Tomko
  • 927th ARW
SELFRIDGE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, MICH. --  A former group commander at Grissom Air Reserve Base, Ind., has assumed command of the 927th Air Refueling Wing at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Mich. 

Colonel Gary E. Beebe, former commander of the 434th Operations Group, succeeded Col. Kenneth D. Suggs, who retired after 32 years of military service.
Colonel Suggs and his wife, 1st Lt. Michele Suggs, are moving to San Antonio, Texas, where Mrs. Suggs will enter active duty. In a reversal of traditional roles, Colonel Suggs said he will become a dependent spouse, and looks forward to raising his 9-month-old son, Chance, and riding his Harley in the hill country of Texas. 

“The Base Realignment and Closure Commission has thrown the 927th a curve ball,” said Colonel Beebe. “We have to figure out how to hit that curve ball.”
He said we only get control of about 15 percent of what happens in life, but we can control 100 percent of our attitudes. 

“We have 917 people in the wing. We need to take care of each and every one of them,” the colonel said. He said his biggest fear is that wing members may say, “I don’t care anymore. They took my wing away ... my opportunity to serve.” 

He said the wing’s realignment will require leadership at all levels – from the youngest airman to Lt. Gen. John A. Bradley, commander of Air Force Reserve Command – to take opportunities to mentor and teach others the value of a good attitude. 

Colonel Beebe, who has 31 years of service, served in five assignments with the 434th Air Refueling Wing, including chief pilot, chief standardization evaluation officer, operations officer and deputy operations group commander, and commander of the 72nd Air Refueling Squadron. 

He was commissioned through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program in 1974, and entered active duty. Upon graduation from pilot training at Webb Air Force Base, Texas, in 1975, he served as a KC-135A copilot, aircraft commander and instructor and evaluator pilot at Blytheville Air Force Base, Ark., and Grissom ARB, Ind.
His next assignment was to the Pacific Tanker Task Force at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. He was selected to work at Headquarters Strategic Air Command in the Special Operations tanker division. 

He separated from active duty and joined the Air Force Reserve in 1989 as an Air Reserve Technician and assistant chief pilot in the 434th. 

Colonel Beebe has been activated for operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Allied Force (Kosovo), and Enduring Freedom. He participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom in a volunteer status. 

He is a command pilot with more than 6,500 flying hours in the KC-135A, E, and R models and the EC-135L and G models.