The 56th Maintenance Group changed leaders Wednesday as Col. Victor Mora relinquished command of the 56th MXG to Col. Ricky Ainsworth during a change of command ceremony held at Luke Air Force Base.
Ainsworth previously served as the Deputy Chief of Logistics, Joint Planning Support Element, Joint Enabling Capabilities Command at Naval Base Norfolk, Virginia.
Brig. Gen. Scott Pleus, 56th Fighter Wing commander, presided over the ceremony.
"Rick is supremely qualified to take this job, he's deployed, has held two joint jobs, and worked at Transportation Command and Africa Command," Pleus said. "He was also here for the initial discussions for what Holloman Air Force Base was going to look like and for what we were going to do with the F-35, and I can't think of a better person to take command of the 56th MXG."
Ainsworth graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering May of 1991 and was commissioned through Officer Training School in 1992. He is a career maintenance officer with experience across 10 different weapon systems.
Prior to his arrival to Luke, in his position as the deputy chief of logistics, Ainsworth lead a diverse multiservice team of active-duty and Reserve personnel providing rapidly deployable joint logistics experts. As the command's senior logistician, he planned and coordinated logistic activities with the services, geographic combatant commands and multinational partners to achieve unified action across the full spectrum of joint operations.
After accepting the unit flag, a symbol of command, Ainsworth addressed his Airmen.
"It's an honor to be here as your new commander, and I look forward to being a part of your exceptional team," he said.
Mora's next assignment is at Osan Air Base, South Korea.