27th SOMSG has change of command

USAF photo: Airman 1st Class Maynelinne De La Cruz Col. Steven A. Kimball, right, assumes command of the 27th Special Operations Mission Support Group on June 25 from Col. Stephen A. Clark, 27th Special Operations Wing commander.

CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. — Col. Steven Kimball assumed command of the 27th Special Operations Mission Support Group from Col. Babette Lenfant in a ceremony here June 25.

“This has been a bittersweet day for me,” Lenfant said to her group before rendering her final salute as the 27 SOMSG commander.

“You have accomplished what was truly inconceivable two years ago,” said the colonel, referring to the transformation that has taken place on the base since its transition from Air Combat Command to Air Force Special Operations Command in October 2007.

Lenfant’s next duty station will be Yong San Barracks, Korea.

Col. Stephen Clark, 27th Special Operations Wing commander, presented Lenfant with the Legion of Merit. Prior to awarding her, he noted that, “the citation doesn’t mention the personal sacrifices she made in the name of the mission.”

The new commander, Kimball, assumed command of the 27th SOMSG after arriving here from his previous duty station as commander of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service Pacific Region based in Okinawa, Japan.

“He is one of a few that (Lt. Gen. Donald Wurster, commander, AFSOC) knows by name,” said Clark, referring to Kimball’s past assignment as the deputy commander for the 1st Special Operations Mission Support Group, Hurlburt Field, Fla.

“The growth of this wing is a unique part of our history,” said Kimball. “The (27th SOMSG) under Col. Lenfant has been truly impressive and will continue to deliver these kind of results. I look forward to serving with you as a 27 SOW Air Commando.”

Kimball, while in command of AAFES Pacific Region, oversaw $1.8 billion in retail, food and service enterprise employing 8,000 associates in Okinawa, Japan, Korea, Guam, Alaska, Hawaii and outlying Pacific islands.

After receiving a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of Central Florida in 1986, Kimball received a Masters of Business Administration from the University of South Dakota.

Some of Kimball’s past assignments include commander of 55th Services Squadron, Offutt AFB, Neb., U.S. Air Forces in Europe Theater Aerospace Operations Support Center A4S and Commanders Action Group Officer, headquarters USAFE, Rammstein Air Base, Germany, and most recently commander of AAFES Pacific Region.