U.S. Air Force Col. Keith A. Chikasawa relinquished command of the 163rd to Col. Clark J. Bramante during a change of command ceremony at March Air Reserve Base, California, Oct. 15, 2022.

Col. Chikasawa reflected on his time serving with the wing. In extending his gratitude, he remarked, “We’ve come so far through the COVID-19 pandemic: Civil Support, Remote Split Operations, the Formal Training Unit mission, as well as deployments and joint task force missions along with the State Guard. It was truly a team effort over the last couple of years.”

He challenged us to remember two things, “Courage stems from the Latin word ‘cor’ – heart. This wing has incredible heart and it has shown the courage to think outside the box and lead. I don’t need easy, I just need possible. We can do this. We have the talent, we have the Airmen, and we have the leadership to get anything across the finish line,” he said.

Col. Bramante then addressed the wing, bringing up two overarching concepts: gratitude and service. He expressed sincere gratitude to his parents, his wife and children, civic leaders, and “for the people at the wing who have come before us.” “This wing has a history and a tradition of excellence. That legacy they’ve left behind was hard earned. We have been set up for success. Like Colonel Chickasaws said, we have great momentum moving forward.”

The service we provide, as members of our wing, he said, contributes to dual missions: to our nation and to our state. “That’s truly a unique and amazing thing about the Guard, is that we serve at the state and federal level. It’s a big thing to be able to serve our state, and a great privilege and a very noble endeavor.”

Looking in to the future, Col. Bramante remarked, “What I know moving forward is that this wing is up to any challenge and that we will figure it out,” Col Bramante said. “So I give you permission to run and get after it. Whatever you’re AFSC is, whatever your age is, whatever your background is. Uh it’s going take all of us. It’s going to take people coming from every different viewpoint in society to solve these problems and we’re better when we listen to everybody. So diversity in our ranks in our opinions in how we move forward could not be more important because it’s going to make us stronger and each and every one of you has a voice.”