Col. Steven Gray assumes command of 1st ASOG

  • Published
  • By Laura M. Levering
  • Northwest Guardian
Joint Base Lewis-McCord, Wash. --  Colonel Steven G. Gray assumed command of the 1st Air Support Operations Group during a change-of-command ceremony June 25 at 5th Air Support Operations Squadron on Joint Base Lewis-McChord Lewis Main. He replaced Col. Robert D. Evans, who served as the installation's first joint base senior air liaison officer, providing resource protection for seven major Army installations, 70,000 troops and 310 permanently assigned aircraft.

Making the journey from Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Hawaii, 13th Air Force commander Lt. Gen. Hawk Carlisle commended Evans for creating the first Corps-level air and missile defense detachment into an air support operations squadron.

"You set a vision, and you started the ASOG along the path under 13th Air Force, and now you are passing the group to equally capable hands,"  General Carlisle said.

General Carlisle credited Evans with many accomplishments during his 15-month command, all of which were made possible with the support of his family, friends and members of the ASOG team.

"He successfully took five squadrons of over 400 battlefield Airmen spread throughout the Pacific and integrated them into a group of squadrons providing unsurpassed mission-ready support to the U.S. Army Pacific, I Corps and nine airborne infantry aviation and Stryker brigade combat teams," General Carlisle said.

Evans' command came at a time of major changes. With the prospect of becoming joint base on the horizon and ongoing conflicts overseas, he acknowledged it wasn't easy, but thanked his ASOG family for lightening the load.

"It was a time of great turmoil, following a massive reorganization and the imminent deployment of most of the group's staff to support I Corps in Iraq," Colonel Evans said. "On every count, you have delivered."

In addition to the commander serving as air liaison, the group's mission is to provide an air support operations center, tactical air control parties and battlefield weather teams to Army combat units. Evans underscored the importance of this mission, calling it a vital link between Soldiers and the air support they depend on.

"When they're taking fire, and it's danger close, you are there fighting bravely as an integral part of the team, fixing the enemy with precision and dealing death from above," Colonel Evans said. "Whether it's predicting dangerous weather or controlling lifesaving close air support, make no mistake, the 1st ASOG is all in."

Evans will take on new responsibilities as the wing commander of 673rd Air Base Wing and base commander of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.

The new 1st ASOG commander arrived from Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam along with his wife and three children, where he was chief of the Combat Plans Division in the 613th Air and Space Operations Center.

Gray brings a lifetime of military experience. As the son of a retired Army major general, he grew up exposed to command life and military life in general.

"He is the right person at the right time to take this group and continue (Colonel Evans') work developing the 1st ASOG into the best air support operations group in the world," General Carlisle said.

Following a list of thanks and recognitions, Colonel Gray kept his remarks short, reciting words of wisdom from a fellow officer.

"Being the incoming commander is like being a corpse at a wake ... Everybody's there to see you, but nobody's really looking for you to get up and talk," Colonel Gray said with a smile.

"To the 1st ASOG, my actions will speak louder than any words that I say today, and you'll be the judges of how well I do."