DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. -- Col. Kenneth Lapierre assumed command of the 94th Maintenance Group in a ceremony here Feb. 3.
The MXG has not had an official commander for eight months. The former commander, Col. Richard Shelton, was reassigned in June of last year as the commander of the 433rd Maintenance Group at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. Since that time, Col. Scott A. Malcolm, of the 22nd Air Force, has served as the interim commander.
94th Airlift Wing commander Col. Heath J. Nuckolls commented on the MXG dealing with the extended transition.
"The maintenance group hasn't skipped a beat," he said. "They've gone through the changes flawlessly. I look forward to him, (Colonel Lapierre) being a part of Team Dobbins. It's going to be an exciting year for the maintenance group."
"When I think about the 94th MXG, I think about the Air Force core values," Colonel Lapierre said during the ceremony. "You provide high quality aircraft to the 700th. It is an honor and a privilege to return as the group commander," he added. "There is no better job that I could be asked to serve in. It's a real honor."
Colonel Lapierre has served as the deputy director of the A4 Division with the 22nd Air Force since December 2005. He also served as the deputy commander of the 94th Mission Support Group from 2003 to 2005.
During this tour, he deployed to Tallil Air Base, Iraq as the deputy commander of the 407th Air Expeditionary Group in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Colonel Lapierre entered active duty in August 1985 after earning his bachelor's degree in environmental engineering at Norwich University in Northfield, Vt., and went on to earn a master of science degree in information systems from Golden Gate University in San Francisco in 1989.