By DENNIS ANDERSON
Special to Aerotech News and Review
EDWARDS AFB – Ceremonies for change of command happen in a building big enough to comfortably house a B-52 Stratofortress—the oldest operational aircraft in the Air Force—and place it nose-to-nose with a B-2 stealth bomber, and maybe even roll in a massive C-17 Globemaster transport, and still have room to host an Air Force Ball.
The base commander, Brig. Gen. Douglas P. Wickert, calls the big building “the sacred hangar in our little corner of the Mojave Desert.”
It was that hangar where Col. Ahave E. Brown handed the command flag of the 412th Test Wing Maintenance Group over to the new leader, Col. Phillip Rehmert, on Wednesday, July 9, nearly three years to the day after Brown assumed command.
For three years, Col. Brown, served as commander of the 412th Test Wing Maintenance Group where he led 1,800 civilian and military personnel in execution of developmental test and evaluation on 53 highly modified test aircraft.
Brig. Gen. Wickert, commanding the 412th Test Wing and commanding officer at Edwards, mounted the big stage from which an American flag the size of a house is draped, book-ended by a couple of needle-nosed fighter jets.
The general had a few words about Col. Brown.
“Col. Brown, what a phenomenal command you have had,” the commanding general said. “You have already sustained the most complex, diverse maintenance group in the world, and you have taken the enterprise to a new level.”
Wickert noted Brown and his team ushered in a series of firsts, including first flight of the nation’s newest strategic bomber, the B-21 Raider, paving the way for “Raptor 2.0” and preparation of the latest version of Air Force One.
Wickert said anyone wanting to see what the Air Force will look like in the next five to 50 years, the skies above Edwards is where it all happens. That future in flight could not happen without the kind of superior maintenance support provided by 412th Wing maintainers, he said.
During his three-year command, the 412th maintenance group was recognized for excellence each year, including receiving the Secretary of Defense Field Maintenance Award in 2024.
“This is where we are pacing China,” Wickert said. He added it was the work of 412th Test Wing and its maintenance group that prepared the way for the recent B-2 mission into Iran to disable its nuclear program.
Beyond performance measure statistics, Wickert said Brown’s leadership was defined “by the way you care for people.”
The general said when he is out and about in Edwards’ surrounding communities he is frequently asked, “’Do you know Col. Brown?’ I go up in their estimation when I say I work with Col. Brown.”
Maj. Gen. Scott Cain, commander of the Air Force Test Center, attended. Community groups including the Edwards Air Force Base Civilian-Military Support Group, and Coffee4Vets veteran support group attended.
The Air Force awarded Brown the Legion of Merit, with Wickert pronouncing Brown’s performance “exceptionally meritorious.”
Of the incoming commander, Wickert said “We got it absolutely right with Col. Rehmert. He is perfectly suited for the role to define maintenance for the B-21 Raider.”
Wickert added, “Command is the Air Force’s greatest calling. It requires excellence, integrity, humility and a relentless commitment to taking care of the people.”
Rehmert addressed his new troops and the guests.
“This is national defense in its most technical form,” he said. “Test pilots fly unproven systems in unforgiving ways with full trust in the aircraft they operate, and that trust begins right here w 412th Maintenance Group.”
Col. Brown heads to a new assignment at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. where he will command the 10th Air Base Wing.
Brown shared a few words with the guests and with the Airmen, men and women of the maintenance group—his troops— who now become Col. Rehmert’s command.
“I thank you because you allowed me to be just like you,” Brown said. Pointing at the big flag, he said, “I am a thread on this flag, and so are you. It is the red, white and blue that drives us, that motivates us, that allows us to get up in the morning.” He added, “Someone must answer the nation’s call.”
Brown’s next assignment, he said, “entails overseeing the installation, the security and environment for the entire Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, some 4,000 plus cadets … and between three to four-thousand personnel who contribute to graduating the world’s finest officers.”
In a telephone interview before the ceremony, Brown said, “Carrying out test for the Air Force, our Allies and partners, there is not a day that we are not integrally involved in the national defense. And I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with my civilian teammates who have decades of experience.”
There is something else Col. Brown brought to his time in the Antelope Valley. In visiting frequently with veterans, he said he has been rewarded with the experience of former military, the troops who exited armed service and moved on to great service as citizens.
“Our country is steeped in the history of the great heroes and heroines who have stood up for the Flag, and worn its colors,” he said.
Born in Baltimore, Brown remembers the day his father took him down to the station where he would leave for Air Force training. Brown spent 14 years as an enlisted Airman before shifting to the commissioned officer role.
“I came into basic military training on 23 June, 1986 at the tender age of 17,” he recalled. “I have been on active duty ever since.” He laughed, and said, “Always forward.”
