Passing the reigns, 176th Maintenance Group gets new commander

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. N. Alicia Halla
  • 176 WG
Alaska Air National Guard's 176th Maintenance Group Airmen held a change of command ceremony here Dec. 6, welcoming their new commander.

Lt. Col. Michael Griesbaum took authority of the group from relinquishing commander Col. Torrence Saxe who currently serves as the vice wing commander of the 168th Refueling Wing.

"You should be very proud of [Col. Griesbaum]," Col. Blake Gettys, the 176th Wing commander, said to Griesbaum's family. "He's earned the position that he's about to enter, and I am confident the maintenance group will be proud of him, as well."

Griesbaum joined the 176th Wing in 1989 and started his relationship with the maintenance group in 2005 as a quality assurance pilot.

"There's no group of people in the world I'd rather face the future with than you," Griesbaum said. "I'm really proud to be here. It's good to be back home."