Honorary commanders inducted

  • Published
  • By Marie Vanover
  • 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
KIRTLAND AFB, N.M. --  Team Kirtland recognized 21 Albuquerque community leaders Nov. 1 at the annual Honorary Commanders Assumption of Command Ceremony at the Mountain View Club.

Five new honoraries were inducted and Stuart Purviance, executive director of the Kirtland Partnership Committee, was inducted into the Kirtland Wingman Program.

Since 1995, honorary commanders have been matched with Kirtland AFB wing and group commanders and their equivalents.

Unit commanders brief their honorary commanders on the mission, structure and programs of their organization, and invite them to take part in quarterly activities and other events on base, such as commander's calls and social functions. Honorary commanders may then reciprocate by inviting their Team Kirtland counterparts to similar functions within their organizations.

"Our goal in the honorary commander program is to build on the strong bond Kirtland AFB already enjoys with the surrounding community by immersing these community leaders in the missions of Team Kirtland," said Col. John Kubinec, commander of the 377th Air Base Wing and Kirtland AFB's installation commander.

The 2012-2013 Kirtland AFB unit commanders and honorary commanders are:

-- Maj. Gen. Garrett Harencak, Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center commander, and Carlo Lucero, president, Sparkle Maintenance

-- Col. John Kubinec, 377th Air Base Wing commander, and Mike Chase, quality assurance manager, Chugach (Dept. of Energy)

-- Col. Paul Barney, 377th Security Forces Group commander, and Chief Ray Schultz, Albuquerque chief of police

-- Col. Jeffrey Lanning, 377th Mission Support Group commander, and Winston Brooks, superintendent, Albuquerque Public Schools

-- Col. Thomas Ventriglia, 377th Maintenance Group commander, and Patricia Knighten, owner, Prescient 360

-- Col. Steve Reese, 377th Medical Group commander, and Samantha Lapin, CEO, POD, Inc.

-- Chief Master Sgt. John Dougherty, 377th Air Base Wing command chief, and Michael Riordan, director, Department of Municipal Development, City of Albuquerque

-- Col. Clarence "CJ" Johnson, AFNWC Nuclear Capabilities Directorate director, and Chris Dunkeson, area vice president, Comcast Cable Communications

-- Col. Vince Becklund, 58th Special Operations Wing commander, and Ethan Epstein, Modrall Sperling law firm

-- Col. Dagvin Anderson, 58th Operations Group commander, and John Murphy, vice president and general manager, Enterprise Holdings

-- Col. Gregory L. Endris, 58th Maintenance Group commander, and Valentin Varela, chairman, NOMAR, Inc.

-- Chief Master Sgt. Gregory Smith, 58th Special Operations Wing command chief, and Eloise Gift, Gift Realty New Mexico

-- Maj. Gen. Scott West, Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center commander, and Jim Baca, Intel Corp.

-- Air Force Safety Center executive director Jim Rubeor, and Marla Wood, director, ARCA Business Enterprise

-- Brig. Gen. Daryl Hauck, Air Force Program Executive Officer for Strategic Systems, and Bill Miera, CEO, Fiore Industries

-- Col. Paul Tibbets IV, Air Force Inspection Agency commander, and Steve Paternoster, owner, Scalo Northern Italian Grill and president/CEO of Central New Mexico YMCA

-- Col. Michael Moran, Space Development and Test Directorate director, and Louis Herrera, president, Sisttemex, Inc.

-- Dr. David A. Hardy, Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate director, and Hilary Noskin, attorney, Peacock Myers

-- Col. William Cooley, Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate director, and Barbara Brazil, New Mexico deputy cabinet secretary for business development

-- Jeffrey Thomas, chief of staff, Albuquerque Site, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and Jerry Geist, CEO, Santa Fe Center Enterprises

 -- Army Lt. Col. Antoinette Gant, commander of Army Corps of Engineers Albuquerque District, and Christine Glidden, president, Ornamental and Architectural Metal Fabrication

Editor's note: In the accompanying photographs, only new unit or honorary commanders are shown passing the guidon.