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7th BW welcomes new commander

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. David Owsianka
  • 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs

Col. Joseph Kramer assumed command of the 7th Bomb Wing from Col. Ed Sumangil during a change of command ceremony at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, June 15, 2021.

Military change of commands are a tradition that formally symbolizes the transfer of authority from one leader to another. The transfer of command is completed by handing the command flag from the outgoing commander to the incoming.

“This is a momentous occasion for my family and I, and it is a profound responsibility for me to take command of this wing,” Kramer said. “I’m glad to have joined this team, to have the privilege of being here and I look forward to the journey of being here.”

Maj. Gen. Mark E. Weatherington, 8th Air Force and Joint-Global Strike Operations Center commander, presided over the ceremony. He talked about the importance of leading and preparing Airmen for the future.

“Wing command is about building, leading and developing teams with character, courage, commitment and compassion,” Weatherington said. “It’s where responsibility, authority and accountability come together in a leader with vision and purpose. It’s where that leader rallies the full capabilities and capacity of all the team members to make a difference.”

After two years of leading members of Team Dyess, Sumangil is going to the Pentagon where he will be the senior executive officer to the Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force. He also reflected on his time at Dyess AFB.

“There are countless people who contributed to my success here as the wing commander,” Sumangil said. “To the men and women of Team Dyess, my success is only because of the efforts that you put forth every single day during my command tour. It has been the greatest honor of my life to have served you and to have served with you.”

Kramer transferred to Dyess AFB from Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, where he commanded the 612th Air Operations Center. Kramer is now responsible for the health and welfare of over 14,000 active-duty members, Defense Department civilians and family members. His focus will be on the ABC’s: A for Airmen, B for bombing and C is for community.

“My team will work to the quality of life and quality of work in order to prove that,” Kramer said. “We will meet the Joint Force Air Component taskings and we will also prioritize and ruthlessly upgrade the team here so we are ready for any day-to-day fight, and we will continue to strengthen our partnership with the local community as it’s eluded to already with the Abilene award."