OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- The 170th Group is under new leadership following a change of command ceremony here Nov. 4.
Lt. Col. David Preisman took the group guidon from Col. Mark Hopson during the tradition rich ceremony held at the 557th Weather Wing auditorium.
The 170th Group is a Nebraska Air National Guard unit consisting of 80 authorized personnel, including 35 full-time and 45 traditional, or part-time, ANG members.
“Every time a new commander has taken command (of the 170th Group), the unit has gotten better and better,” said Brig. Gen. Keith M. Schell, Nebraska National Guard Assistant Adjutant General - Air, who presided over the ceremony. “Each commander continues to raise the bar…and I know Dave is going to do a great job.”
Preisman is the sixth commander in the history of the group and comes from the 238th Combat Training Squadron, where he had been commander since 2012.
“To the men and women of the 170th Group, you already rock the mission every day without fail,” he said. “I will do everything I can to knock down policy barriers that get in the way of your success by simultaneously watching what you every day with admiration and pride.”
Preisman was commissioned through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Virginia Tech in 1995. After serving on active duty for ten years, he accepted a full-time position in the Guard in 2005 and has served in a variety of positions.
“You are the premier total force unit in the entire Air Force,” he told the members of the 170th Group in attendance. “I believe my service to you, not the other way around, matters more now than it ever has.”
Hopson will retire after nearly 25 years in the Air Force as an active duty and ANG member. He earned his commission from the United States Air Force Academy in 1991 and joined the Guard in 2002.
“During Mark’s time in command of the 170th and throughout his career he showed tremendous leadership and courage, so I’d like to congratulate him on a job well done,” Schell said.
“I’m humbled and honored and it has been a privilege to be in the 55th Wing, to be in the Nebraska Air National Guard and to be the commander of the awesome 170th Group,” Hopson said. “
The 170th Group was activated June 26, 2007, under the Offutt AFB Future Total Force Initiative. Their mission is to provide initial qualification, re-qualification and upgrade training to active duty and ANG aircrew members within the 55th Wing.