By Joel Langton
The 830 Times
Laughlin Air Force Base’s 47th Flying Training Wing got a new boss Friday morning.
Col. Craig Prather handed over the wing’s reins to Col. Kevin Davidson in Laughlin’s Weather Shelter, one of the largest buildings on base, where the majority of the wing’s T-6 Texan II aircraft can be stored during a storm.
Maj. Gen. Craig Wills, 19th Air Force commander and former 47th Operations Group commander at Laughlin, presided over the nearly hour-long ceremony.
Davidson, an A-10 pilot, was the vice commander for the past year at the 378th Air Expeditionary Wing at Prince Sultan Air Base in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Near the beginning of the ceremony, Prather received the Legion of Merit, one of the United States Air Force’s highest honors, for his two-year stint at Laughlin.
About 40 minutes into the ceremony, Prather took the wing’s guidon and passed it to Wills, who then handed it to Davidson, signifying the wing’s transition in leadership.
Ron Bailey, a Laughlin civilian employee and long-time community member, welcomed Davidson by saying, “Introducing to you for the very first time, Col. Kevin Davidson, 47th Flying Training Wing commander,” and the more than 1,000 people in the hangar welcomed him with a quick round of applause.
“I look forward to continuing the strong partnership with Del Rio,” Davidson told the audience after taking the podium.
A little later in the speech, Davidson told wing members, “Team Laughlin is fired up and I can’t wait to get my hands dirty as I earn your trust.”
Also sitting side-by-side at the ceremony was Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales, representing Texas’s 23rd District (home of Laughlin) and Democratic Congressman Darren Soto, representing Florida’s 9th District. Leaders from throughout the Air Force, including Brig. Gen. Robert Davis, from Northern Command, attended the event as well.
Prather will transition to the Pentagon, where he will help coordinate Air Force generals’ assignments.
The entire ceremony can be viewed here.
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Contact the author at joelalangton@gmail.com .
