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Honorary commanders continue Saber legacy

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Joe W. McFadden
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany --  Local community leaders assumed honorary command of the 52nd Fighter Wing and its units during the wing's Honorary Commander Program assumption of command ceremony at Club Eifel Jan. 22, 2016.

The 52nd FW established the program in 2002 as a way for the Spangdahlem Air Base community to partner with host nationals and build friendship with local community leaders.

"Networking across the region, we are all representatives within areas and face each other as honorary members; that's why we are proud to be able to participate in this program as honorary commanders," said Dagmar Barzen, president of ADD Trier, and honorary commander of the 52nd Operations Group. "We all want peace and freedom, friendship and a direct contact for any support we may need from each other-- this is what this program means."

Each group, squadron and tenant unit is assigned at least one honorary commander, or "Ehrenkommandeure," from the surrounding area. Honorary commanders have the opportunity to attend official functions like change of command ceremonies or graduations as well as functions like the annual Explore the Eifel exhibition fair.

The ceremony also included the graduation of honor commanders upon their years of continued service to the Air Force community.

"I think I can say in all honesty that here -- at Spangdahlem and our surrounding communities in Bitburg, Wittlich, Trier, Bernkastel -- this is the best relationship in the United States Air Force," said U.S. Air Force Col. Joe McFall, 52nd FW commander. "Thank you for all that you do for us. Let's take these next years and build upon these friendships."

The 2016 Honorary Commander Inductees
- Dagmar Barzen, president of ADD Trier, 52nd Operations Group
- Roger Feller, director of the Luxembourg Military Museum Perlé, 52nd Operations Group
- Prof. Dr. Martin Bettag, chief surgeon of neurosurgery, 52nd Medical Support Squadron
- Dietmar Braun, director of Bitburg Police, 52nd Security Forces Squadron
- Matthias Bungert, part owner of Bungert Shop and Catering, 52nd Fighter Wing command chief
- Dennis Junk, area mayor of Wittlich-Land, 52nd Maintenance Group
- Manfred Rodens, area mayor of Speicher, 52nd Operations Support Squadron
- Lothar Schoemann, Trier Police president, Air Force Office of Special Investigations
- Jurgen Stoffel, manager of RWE-Trier, 52nd Civil Engineering Squadron
- Dr. Christoph Thein, director of authority, state construction of LBB Trier, 52nd Civil Engineering Squadron
- Dr. Wolfgang Thomas, Chief for pediatrics and youth medicine, 52nd Medical Group

The 2016 Honorary Commander Graduates
- Herbert Albers-Hain, ECC Trier, 52nd Security Forces Squadron
- Hans-Peter Alleroedder, Bitburg Krankenhaus, 52nd Medical Group
- Rudolf Becker, Area mayor of Speicher, 52nd Operations Group
- Ernst Bollig, Winery Trittenheim, 480th Fighter Squadron
- Dr. Michael Dietzsch, Host Nation Council president, 52nd Fighter Wing
- Christoph Holkenbrink, retired area mayor of Wittlich-Land, 52nd Maintenance Group
- Dr. Andreas Hufschmidt, Wittlich Krankenhaus, 52nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
- Ralf Lunkenheimer, business director, Mutterhaus Trier, 52nd Medical Support Squadron
- Norbert Mueller, Leiter Kripo Wittlich, Air Force Office of Special Investigations
- Ekkehardt Roehr, Zweckverband Bitburg, 52nd Operations Support Squadron
- Wolfgang Schmitz, area mayor of Manderscheid, 52nd Munitions Maintenance Group
- Klaus Voussem, director, RWE electric company, 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron
- Christian Weiskopf, business director, Brueder KHS Trier, 52nd Medical Support Squadron

To see more photos of the event, visit the photo set on the Spangdahlem Flickr page.