180908-F-FV960-1090

Lt. Col. Douglas Perry, 434th Operations Support Squadron commander, left, shakes hands with Lt. Col. Brian Thompson, 434th Operations Group chief of standardization an evaluation, following an assumption of command ceremony at Grissom Air Reserve Base, Ind., Sept. 8, 2018. The main mission of the 434th OSS is to support the 434th Air Refueling Wing combat-ready KC-135 Stratotanker aircrews. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ben Mota)

180908-F-FV960-1071

Lt. Col. Douglas Perry, right, 434th Operations Support Squadron commander, and Col. Brian Hollis, 434th Operations Group commander, pose with the 434th OSS guidon during an assumption of command ceremony at Grissom Air Reserve Base, Ind., Sept. 8, 2018. The main mission of the 434th OSS is to support the 434th Air Refueling Wing combat-ready KC-135 Stratotanker aircrews. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ben Mota)

180908-F-FV960-1068

Lt. Col. Douglas Perry, right, 434th Operations Support Squadron commander, takes the 434th OSS guidon from Col. Brian Hollis, 434th Operations Group commander, during an assumption of command ceremony at Grissom Air Reserve Base, Ind., Sept. 8, 2018. The main mission of the 434th OSS is to support the 434th Air Refueling Wing combat-ready KC-135 Stratotanker aircrews. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ben Mota)

Perry assumes command of 434th OSS

Published Sept. 21, 2018
By Tech. Sgt. Benjamin Mota
434th ARW Public Affairs

GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind. --

With an umbrella encompassing 11 mission-critical areas of the base, the 434th Operations Support Squadron demands a commander with a diverse background and they found just the person.

Lt. Col. Douglas Perry took command of the 434^th OSS during an assumption of command ceremony at Grissom Air Reserve Base, Ind., Sept. 8,2018.

“I’ve known [Perry] for over 20 years, and his work ethic and leadership diversity made him the best candidate for this job,” said Col. Brian Hollis, 434th Operations Group commander who presided over the ceremony. “He’s one of those people when given a task you know he’s going to get it done, and this position requires just that.”

The main mission of the 434^th OSS is to support the 434^th Air Refueling Wing combat-ready KC-135 Stratotanker aircrews. Such activities as life support, mission development, operations training, tactics, flight management, operations plans and intelligence fall under the 434^th OSS.

As commander, Perry said his main goal is to support those areas of the squadron to ensure mission effectiveness.

“I guarantee you, my needs will never come before yours in this job,” said Perry. “I want to help out where I can.”

During the ceremony Perry also stressed the importance of each individual’s personal needs to ensure mission effectiveness.

“Take care of yourself mentally, physically and spiritually and everything else wall fall in place,” he said. “We together are going to take this squadron to the next level and prepare it for my successor, just as Colonel Hollis has done for me.”

Perry is a KC-135R Stratotanker command pilot with 4,600 flight hours. Throughout his career he has held many positions including: 434^th OSS chief of military development, 434^th Air Refueling Wing chief of safety and 434th OSS chief of operations.

The 434th ARW is the largest KC-135 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.

Stay connected with the 434th ARW on Facebook and Twitter.