BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- It's the end of an era as 307th Bomb Wing Commander Brig. Gen. John J. Mooney III leaves for his new job as Inspector General for Air Force Reserve Command. Mooney relinquished command of the 307th BW to Col. Jon Ellis during a change of command ceremony here Feb. 11.
Mooney came to Barksdale Air Force Base in March 2010 from the 10th Air Force, Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, Texas, where he served as the assistant vice commander and chief of staff. It wasn't long after his arrival that changes began to take form within the wing. "When I got here as commander of the 917th, I really didn't know that we were going to become the 307th Bomb Wing," said the general. "That kind of evolved fairly quickly after my arrival. We spent the last year and three-quarters basically closing down the 917th Wing and then building a bomb wing and a separate fighter group from scratch. We kind of had to shift gears mid-stream and readjust fire."
Mooney came up through the ranks as a B-52 navigator, holding positions as a standardization and evaluation instructor navigator, radar navigator, standardization and evaluation instructor radar navigator, flight commander, B-52G/H command evaluator and B-52G/H senior radar navigator. Adapting to the changes that have occurred throughout his almost 30-year career has helped him get to where he is today. "I would say the only constant has been change. I try to impress among people that tend to yearn for the status quo that in this day and age, in this environment, you have to embrace the change - you have to look forward and not view it as a negative but view it as a positive. I think we have done that here."
The Maine native looks forward to his new job at Robins Air Force Base, Ga. "You certainly hope that as you move forward, you put a few more tools in your toolbox," he said. "My prior staff experience and now being here running a wing, I'm ready to go up and handle the challenges as the Air Force Reserve Command Inspector General. I look forward to it, I'm excited about it, and the many, many challenges for the command ahead as we figure out how to do TFI (Total Force Integration) inspections with the other major commands. It's very exciting."