Gullion pins on 'full bird' colonel

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Ben Mota
  • 434th ARW Public Affairs
GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind --  Airmen and family members filled a room to witness a long-standing tradition as one of Grissom's own was pinned with an eagle.

Col. Douglas Gullion, 434 Operations Support Squadron commander, was recently promoted to the rank of colonel in front of family, friends and peers during a pin-on ceremony held here recently.

Col. Doug Schwartz, 434th Air Refueling Wing commander, presided over the ceremony thanking the newly promoted colonel for his military service and dedication to the Air Force.

"I am so humbled and honored to be able to preside over your pin-on ceremony; you just can't imagine," said Schwartz. "This great warrior's career start during Operation Desert Shield and since then has been involved in every operation and every campaign that our country has been in in a KC-135."

During the ceremony, Gullion thanked friends and family members for their support throughout his military career. Gullion, a command pilot with more than 6,000 flight hours, has deployed in support of Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Allied Force, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

"I've been very fortunate to have had a strong network of family, friends and mentors during my career," said Gullion. "While I was a traditional reservist, I had a series of very supportive supervisors who enabled me to balance family life with the demands of civilian and military careers."

Gullion was recently selected for assignment as commander of the 507th Operations Group, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma and will assume command of that unit Nov. 3.

"Leaving Grissom is going to be tough; it's truly bittersweet," said Gullion. "I am going to take a lot of good memories with me."

The newly promoted colonel had his wife, Pam, and daughter, Haleigh, pin on his eagle rank insignias on his service dress coat.

The history of the prestigious rank dates back to around 1505, when the Spanish King Ferdinand reorganized part of his army into twenty units called colunelas. These consisted of about 1,000 to 1250 men further organized into companies with their commander being named a coronel.

The French, and later the British, adopted the title, and although initially retaining the original Spanish pronunciation, the British soon used the pronunciation of 'kernel' we're familiar with today.

The eagle insignia led to the informal term 'full bird colonel.'

The 434th ARW is the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command. Airmen and aircraft from the 434th ARW routinely deploy around the world in support of the Air Force mission and U.S. strategic objectives.

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