BEALE: Community engagement
Williams said she looks forward to developing relationships between the Yuba-Sutter community and the 940th Air Refueling Wing.
“The final thought I will leave you with Is one that occurred to me on the tennis court last weekend as I was running around in the California heat: never give up,” she said during the cermony. “Resilient spirits in all of us will help our team overcome any obstacle, great or small. I pledge to do my best to be a resilient teammate and I ask the rest of the 940th team to do the same.”
Outgoing 940th Air Refeuling Wing head Col. Craig Peters said his greatest achievement was securing a new building for the operations and maintenance group.
“It has been my goal since day one, and I’m excited to see it come to fruition now,” he said.
Peters said his career has been unique because he began as an enlisted airman.
“The most special part (of my career) is leading people and the most rewarding I’d have to say has been Beale, just because of the great attitude of the folks that are here talking on what was said to be an impossible task fully embracing it and turning it into what’s going to be a premier wing going forward,” he said.
The refueling aircraft at Beale are the KC-135 Stratotankers, which have been used for more than 50 years. The Stratotankers also provide aerial refueling for the Navy, Marine Corps and allied nation aircraft, according to the aircraft factsheet.
Williams said the KC-135 wouldn’t have been possible without the Wright Brothers.
“In the process of perfecting the ideas of aerodynamics with a glider, they invented the 3-axis flight control system concept we still use today in the KC-135,” she said. “Together, these ideas can guide the 940th like they guided the Wright Brothers and they will work for small tasks and large tasks alike.”
She said the most important aspect of being a reservist, besides wearing the uniform, is the engagement in the community.
“As reserve citizen airmen, no only do we wear the uniform, we are also local teachers, firefighters, and neighbors,” Williams said. “Without the support of our local communities, we wouldn’t be able to do our military jobs serving our nation.”