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POPE ARMY AIRFIELD — One of the remaining Air Force units at Pope Army Airfield supporting the mission of the Fort Bragg-based Immediate Response Force changed leaders this month.
Col. Allen C. Morris, Jr., commander of the 43rd Air Mobility Operations Group, handed over the command to Col. Brian K. Steinke during a May 21 ceremony at the group's headquarters by Pope Army Airfield.
Morris will assume command of the 305th Air Mobility Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, while Steinke has most recently served as the deputy commander of the 43rd Air Mobility Operations Group.
Maj. Gen. Darren R. Cole, commander of the Twenty-First Air Force and the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center, presided over the ceremony.
Cole said the command change is about the two commanders and the 43rd Air Mobility Group's history and legacy.
The group, which counts about 500 personnel, has a mission to provide rapid strategic support when forces assigned to the Joint Special Operations Command, the 18th Airborne Corps and 82nd Airborne Division deploy.
“You are the pit crew of freedom, running an airfield and air mobility operations as a standalone group with wing-like functions on an Army post, ensuring that America’s national mission force and global response forces can deploy anywhere, anytime,†Cole told the airmen at the ceremony. “And you’ve done it. It’s not just an empty promise; you proved it, and the world took notice. So today your commander changes, but your mission and my expectations of you do not.â€
Outgoing commander
Cole said the largest impact on a unit's performance is its commander.
Morris led the 43rd Air Mobility Operations Group for 29 months “with discipline, style and enthusiasm,†Cole said.
He said Morris rebuilt the standalone group into a joint-oriented, mission-focused team; established a new culture of accountability; drafted new group plans for training, emergency actions to counter unmanned aerial systems and crisis response; abated dorm mold; revived the base's dormant aircraft crash recovery program; and finalized agreements with the Air Force Special Operations Command and Army engineers.
“You unleashed this team’s resourcefulness by empowering them,†Cole told Morris.
He said Morris' most profound impact was taking care of the airmen.
In his remarks, Morris thanked others and said together they went through a no-notice combat readiness inspection; reorganized combat training for the Air Mobility Command; forged partnerships across Fort Bragg; and supported a three-month-long outload of the 82nd Airborne Division.
“The work is the work. It doesn’t matter whose face is on the wall — it will always be there — but the people make the work enjoyable and memorable,†Morris said.
He said a popular refrain heard around Pope is “it doesn't have to be this way.â€
“If we could just get more money, more people, more support, if we get the Army to fix something, or get airplanes assigned here full time, if we can make Pope an Air Force Base again, make the 43rd a wing, or have an air staff,†Morris said.
Yet, he said, the unit is right-sized for the mission it executes.
“If you take ownership and remain humble, then this place, these units, these people and this mission get in your blood, and you become protective,†Morris said. “This place has too much history, and too much goodness, and too much to offer to get a moniker like ‘No Hope Pope’ hung around its signage.â€
The mission can be intense and even frustrating, Morris said, but it is also impactful.
“Even when you’re doing your core mission, like moving the 82nd, it’s a fight. … but I’ve told every (Air Mobility Command) commander and visiting general officer all the way up to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the Secretary of War, anyone who doesn’t want to come to Pope to lead is crazy,†Morris said.
He said with Steinke at the helm, he expects airmen to continue to capitalize on the opportunities.
“This place gets in your blood, and it will remain in mine,†Morris said. “I not only thank the Air Force for that, but all of you, as well.â€
New commander
Morris said that, nearly two years ago, Steinke was in the middle of a move from Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama to Scott Air Force Base in Illinois and was told to change directions to head to Pope. Morris said he wished he could show Steinke what would happen two years later.
“There’s still two years of work ahead. Congrats … . Thank you for being willing, able and ready to drop your Air Force plan and move to Pope to join our command team, not by design, but surely by fate,†Morris told Steinke.
Cole said Steinke‘s more than 20 years of warfighting experience has placed him “in this moment with the responsibility for the lives of hundreds of airmen and their families.â€
According to Steinke’s biography, he was commissioned in 2003 through the ROTC program at Texas A&M University and is a master navigator with more than 1,500 flight hours, including 595 combat hours in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn.
“You know this group intimately, and you bring a wealth of operational experience, exceptional skill sets, and a deep understanding of this joint environment to your team,†Cole told Steinke. “I know you’re ready. So, here’s my charge to you: Maintain high standards. Rapid global mobility and joint forcible entry have demanding tolerances. Maintain readiness and solve problems across cultures. There will be many. Build warfighter advantage in everything you do. You always have to be maneuvering to win. The enemy never sleeps.â€
In Steinke's brief remarks, he said Morris came at a time when the group needed leadership, and Morris delivered.
“It is my honor to take this unit from you and continue that vector onward and upward. … To the men and women of the 43rd AMOG, it’s going to be fantastic,†Steinke said. “We’re going to do great things, continue to do great things. … I am honored and humbled to be here at the helm to continue the work that you guys have been doing.â€
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
