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FSS welcomes new operations chief

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Courtney Dotson-Essett
  • 434th ARW Public Affairs

The 434th Force Support Squadron recently welcomed Lt. Col Eric Kase as its newest operations officer.

Kase comes to Grissom from Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado where he served as the 302nd Airlift Wing’s FSS commander.

He fills a vacancy that Col. Scott Russell, 434th Mission Support Group Commander, is pleased to have filled.

“When I received the resumes for the position, Col. Kase stood out as having the most experience of any of the candidates,” said Russell. “He showed a real passion for taking care of, and developing his people as well as being at an AFRC host base with a full time mission.”

He added, “A key component that Col. Kase brings to the unit is his experience in training.”

The 32-year Air Force veteran commissioned as an officer in 1986. After an active duty career as an intercontinental ballistic missile crew commander, Kase became a reservist in 1992.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Systems Management from the University of Northern Colorado and Masters of Business Administration from the University of Wyoming.

After spending four years at Peterson, he and his wife Nida decided it was time to be closer to their family in his hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania.

“It’s still a decent drive,” he said of the commute from Indiana to Pennsylvania. “But it’s not as hectic as getting on the plane and it’s nice to be closer.”

Kase has hit the ground running and says he’s looking forward to learning how the FSS at Grissom completes its mission.

“I look forward to getting into the details of how things have been done here,” he said. “I’m looking at process improvement. I think there’s always opportunities to improve how we do things.

There is actually more on my plate here because we’re a standalone unit,” he added. “I have all the components that we didn’t deal with at Peterson as a tenant unit.”

With a great team already in place, Kase is confident the transition will be a smooth one.

“I’ve noticed that I have great NCO’s and officers here who are getting me immersed and getting me up to speed,” he said. “They are really doing great things.”

The 434th ARW is the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command. The Citizen Airmen from the Hoosier Wing routinely deploy around the world in support of the Air Force mission.

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Public Affairs Staff

Material contained on the Official Grissom Air Reserve Base Internet Web Site is written and produced by members of the 434th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs Office. The award-winning staff includes:

Douglas Hays
Chief, public affairs

Maj. Elias Zani
Public affairs officer

Josh Weaver
Public affairs operations chief

Master Sgt. Josh Weaver
NCOIC of public affairs

Master Sgt. Rachel Barton
Staff writer

Tech. Sgt. Alexa Culbert
Staff writer

Senior Airman Alexis Morris
Staff writer

Airman 1st Class Elise Faurote
Staff writer