Luke Welcome new commanders Published July 20, 2007 By Capt. Miki Gilloon 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- Arizona summers are not only synonymous with hot weather, but with changes of commands at Luke. The 61st Fighter Squadron, 56th Equipment Maintenance Squadron, 56th Security Forces Squadron and 56th Dental Squadron, welcomed new commanders July 6 through 13. Lt. Col. James Sears, the 56th Fighter Wing Safety chief, took command of the 61st FS from Lt. Col. Douglas Miller July 12. Colonel Miller departed Luke to attend senior developmental education at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, Fort McNair, Washington D.C. On taking command, Colonel Sears said he was honored to be leading the squadron. "The Top Dog tradition of excellence continues today," he said. "With our nation engaged in war, we continue to learn lessons through our global challenges. As we mold and shape the finest Combat Air Forces warriors here in the Top Dogs, these lessons will not be lost." Lt. Col. Benjamin Alley, former Headquarters Logistics Standardization and Evaluation Team branch chief at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, took command of the 56th EMS from Lt. Col Timothy Molnar July 6. Colonel Molnar will become the Ogden Air Logistics Center F-22 system support manager at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. According to Colonel Alley, he is proud to be the newest member of the team and leading more than 750 people. "I look forward to working alongside our professional men and women to provide critical maintenance support for our pilots training for the Combat Air Forces," he said. Maj. Chris DeGuelle, former 422nd Security Forces commander at Royal Air Force Croughton, England, took command of the 56th SFS from Lt. Col. Stephen Mezhir July 13. Colonel Mezhir will become the Headquarters Air Force Space Command Security Forces director of operations at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. As the new 56th SFS commander, Major DeGuelle will oversee security of more than 191 F-16 aircraft in addition to police services; information, industrial and personnel security support; marksmanship training; and force protection. Col. Glenn Terry, former dental surgeon at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., took command of the 56th DS from Col. Jeffrey Swartz July 10. Colonel Swartz retired from the Air Force. Colonel Terry will oversee dental healthcare to more than 6,200 active-duty members and 86,000 Defense Department beneficiaries. I am very grateful to be here at Luke and look forward to being in command of the friendliest dental squadron in the Air Force," Colonel Terry said.