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New 58th SOW commander already familiar with Kirtland

  • Published
  • By Lee Ross
  • Nucleus managing editor
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  At the change of command ceremony, Col. Dagvin Anderson, the new 58th Special Operations Wing commander, said he is happy to be coming home.

Anderson was 58th Operations Group commander at Kirtland for two years, ending his stint in June 2013.

"To be back is pretty unusual, and it's pretty incredible," he said in an interview after the July 18 ceremony.

He's glad his daughters, Hala, 10, and Lilja, 7, will be able to reconnect with friends, he said.

Airman 1st Class Lulu Ngiraulau said she's sorry to see the former commander, Col. Vincent Becklund, leave, but is confident in Anderson's leadership.

"Col. Becklund was an awesome leader and commander. He was very personable and he knew me by my name. And I'm just one in how many in the whole wing? He treated us like family. I just feel that he treated everyone like family," she said.

Ngiraulau said she never met Anderson when he was group commander, but she was impressed by his speech at the ceremony. Specifically, when Anderson talked about why his daughter Hala wasn't at the ceremony.

Hala was at summer camp, Anderson had said, supporting a friend whose father died a year ago. Anderson said he's proud of his daughter's choice.

"We don't always do what's right, but my daughter did," he said. "It was sad she didn't make it [but] I'm very proud of her."

Ngiraulau said that this story, and Anderson's tone as he addressed the Airmen, told her what she wanted to know about him.

"He got kind of emotional. I love that," she said. "He's truly going to genuinely care about us. That just showed me what his true character is. He's perfectly honest."

Chief William McGreggor, the superintendent of the 58th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, said he is glad to have Anderson returning as commander. When Anderson was group commander, he made personal visits to the maintainers' shop to recognize their hard work, which McGreggor said was appreciated.

"He's a phenomenal man," he said.

Anderson is looking forward to follow-through on the initiatives he began years ago, such as consolidating training for C130-J special operations pilots and bringing in an Air Force rescue helicopter in a few years.

Continuing to integrate the Air National Guard 150th Special Operations Wing into the 58th SOW is also a priority, he said. This will be the fourth time he's worked with a Reserve or Guard unit, he said, so he understands the importance of the collaborative effort.

"To be successful we have to get this partnership right," he said.

Anderson said it is a bit intimidating, coming into command of the 58th, which has a track record of success. In his speech to the Airmen, he said he would live up to the task.
"I will do everything that I can to take care of you, because I know you will take care of me," he said.