WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE — Col. Bradley McDonald relinquished command over the 88th Air Base Wing of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base June 19 to Col. Thomas Sherman.
The wing, with more than 5,500 military, civilian and contracted employees, is one of the largest in the Air Force.
“It is an honor to be a wing and installation commander at a base where the community recognizes our airmen as hometown heroes,” McDonald said. “It’s not just a moniker. We’re out and about in the community — there’s probably 26,000 of us who live in the communities. It isn’t just ‘the base’ and ‘the communities.’ It’s the base and the communities, the base is the community.”
McDonald graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1994 and has held a number of leadership and staff positions. Prior to serving WPAFB, he was the vice commander of the 10th Air Base Wing of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
McDonald will retire from a 24-year career in the Air Force following his service to WPAFB. He began his time as commander of the 88th Air Base Wing on June 21, 2016.
“Thank you for your service, thank you for your commitment and I am so confident that you are going to do a great job,” McDonald said to Sherman as he closed his speech. ” … It has been the honor of my life to serve the Air Force and to serve the mighty 88th Air Base Wing.”
Sherman previously served as the commander of the detachment 1 of the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado. He graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1995 and has since been a six-time commander in a number of positions.
“From the moment we received notification that we were coming here to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, friends and colleagues from across the Air Force were reaching out and saying ‘you are absolutely going to love the wonderful installation and the community that supports you amplifies that,’” Sherman said, adding that first on his to-do list is getting to know WPAFB. “It’s just amazing the immediate outpouring of people who have told us how wonderful this place is.”
