ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Warner Robins, July 24, 2010 – More than 200 friends, fellow Airmen and Soldiers, and dignitaries filled the Museum of Aviation’s “Century of Flight” hangar to watch the Georgia Air Guard welcome its new commander and to say farewell to the man who spent the past six years as the organization’s senior leader.

“I receive the command,” said Brig. Gen. Thomas R. Moore, saluting Maj. Gen. Terry Nesbitt, Georgia’s Adjutant General, as Moore formally accepted the position of Georgia Air Guard commander.

To take his new post as the Air Guard commander, Moore had to relinquish command of the 116th Air Control Wing – the Air Force’s premier “blended wing” in which active duty Air Force and Air Guard personnel fly the E8-C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (J-STARS) aircraft.

“He [Moore] has proven his leadership as the 116th’s commander and as commander of the 165th Airlift Wing in Savannah,” Nesbitt said. “His insight made both units two of the top wings of their type nationally in the Air Guard and the active Air Force.

“I know Tom will continue that tradition of success as he steps into the role of Georgia Air Guard commander to lead the Air Guard’s more than 3,000 members,” Nesbitt added.

Moore acknowledged the many challenges ahead in this time of ever-constricting budgets. However, he lauded the fact that the Air Guard has one of the best leadership teams in the nation, adding that he would work with that team to “roll up our sleeves, get in there and get after it.”

“Looking back at the past six years, the Georgia Air Guard has probably gone through the most challenging time in its 60-year history,” Nesbitt remarked.  “General Moore, though, will maintain the Air Guard’s upward momentum, gaining new missions and new units, carrying the organization on to new heights.”

Hammond, who spent 35 years of his life in uniform, ends the career he began as a flight instructor.  He then served as a fighter and bomber pilot, having logged more than 3,000 flight hours in T-37 and T-38 trainer jets, the F-15 Eagle and the B-1 Bomber. Hammond has also served in key squadron and wing positions, as the special assistant to the deputy chief of staff for plans and operations at the Pentagon, and as the Air Guard chief of staff before becoming Air Guard commander.

Though Hammond, Nesbitt noted, wants to be remembered as a fighter pilot, the legacy he leaves behind will be embodied in the organization he helped develop and in his example of “service before self” integrity.

“Your aggressive devotion to duty, relentless focus on the targets at hand, and ability to recognize and react to complex situations at a glance, are certainly characteristic traits of a fighter pilot,” Nesbitt said. “And those skills have guided your actions as Air Guard commander and kept you determined to make the organization stronger and better.” 

Moore said of Hammond, “I thank you. Paula [Moore’s wife] and I couldn’t have asked for better friends than you and Cindy [Hammond’s wife], and I couldn’t have asked for a better boss. It’s an honor to have served with you.”

Hammond said he’s quite proud of the people he’s served with, and very proud of the fact that the Georgia Air Guard has deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 without any losses.

“Some may call it luck, but it was the dedication to excellence and untiring commitment to training of the officers and Airmen that made that happen,” he said.

As for Moore, Hammond told his replacement, “I know this organization is getting a great leader, and that you have the temperament and integrity that it takes to lead this unique breed of warriors.

Story and photos by Sgt. 1st Class Roy Henry

Public Affairs Office

Department of Defense