51st Fighter Wing to Change Command Dec. 7

from 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs

11/4/2009 - OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- Col. Patrick Malackowski will assume command of the 51st Fighter Wing from Col. Thomas Deale during a ceremony scheduled for Dec. 7 at 10 a.m.

Colonel Deale, who has served as 51st FW Commander since October 2008, has been selected by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force to serve as the Director of Colonel Management at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

"My family and I are honored to be selected for this new opportunity, but it will pale in comparison to the honor it has been to serve the Mustangs and the Republic of Korea as the 51st Fighter Wing Commander," Colonel Deale said.

Colonel Deale led the 51st Fighter Wing through the first stages of Tour Normalization, which will ultimately bring thousands of families to Osan Air Base by 2020. There is currently a waiting list for Airmen interested in being assigned to Osan with their families.

"I am very proud of our team and our Airmen," Colonel Deale said. "They exemplify what is best in our nation and our Air Force."

Colonel Malackowski will be joining the Mustangs from his current assignment at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., where he is the Commander of the 57th Operations Group.

He is a 1986 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and a command pilot with more than 3,100 hours in the A-10 Thunderbolt II. He also served in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom as the Commander of the 438th Air Expeditionary Group.

Source

Related info:
Osan wing leader heading to Pentagon (Stars and Stripes)
Biography of Col. Thomas H. Deale

A little bit more about Col. Patrick Malackowski:

In 2003, as a Lt. Col. and commander of the 81st Fighter Squadron, 52nd Fighter Wing (USAFE), Spangdahlem AB, Germany, he leaded the 81st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron during a six-month combat deployment for Operation Enduring Freedom at Bagram AB, Afghanistan.



Lt. Col. Patrick Malackowski and his wife, Carol, share a drink after he returned November 24, 2003, from Bagram, Afghanistan. Malackowski, commander of the 81st Fighter Squadron, returned with seven others from the squadron - the last of the squadron to finish the six-month deployment. (Photo by Marni McEntee / Stars and Stripes)

Read: Spangdahlem’s A-10s return home (Stars and Stripes)
See also: A-10 Units of Operation Enduring Freedom (Warthog News)

On January 15, 2007, Lt. Col. Malackowski took command of the 438th Air Expeditionary Group which was activated on that day at Al Asad Airfield, Iraq, for Operation Iraqi Freedom. With their deployed A-10s, the 438th AEG provided close-air support to coalition forces in the Al Anbar province, especially to the Marines.

Read:
A-10s set to soar in Al Anbar province (AFNEWS)
See also: A-10 Units of Operation Iraqi Freedom - Part III (Warthog News)