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Whipple takes command of 127th Mission Support Group

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Dan Heaton
  • 127th Wing Public Affairs
Col. Daniel J. Whipple has assumed command of the 127th Mission Support Group at Selfridge Air National Guard Base.

Whipple formally took command of the 500-Airman group during a June 14 ceremony at Selfridge. The group's former commander, Col. Bryan J. Teff, is now serving as the vice commander of the 110th Attack Wing in Battle Creek. The 127 MSG includes civil engineer, security forces, logistics readiness, communications and force support squadrons; as well as the National Guard Bureau's Contracting Center of Excellence and Civilian Human Resource Office.

"The 127th MSG is the most complex and diverse mission support group in the Air National Guard," said Brig. Gen. John D. Slocum, 127th Wing commander, who oversaw the change of command ceremony. "The future of this base will be largely created by the Airmen (of this group)."

Whipple has been an American Airman since he enlisted in the Ohio Air National Guard as a heavy equipment operator in 1986. After serving in both Ohio and Indiana, Whipple joined the Michigan Air National Guard at Selfridge and served as an officer as an air traffic controller, wing executive officer and as the 127th Communications Squadron commander. In 2009, he was part of a group of Airmen who stood up the Battle Creek-based 217th Air Operations Group. He was selected for command of the 127th MSG earlier this year.

Addressing his new command, Whipple laid out their charge in direct terms:

"Without you, there is no fuel, no parts, no supplies. Our Airmen will not be trained or fed. Our installation and assets would not be secure. We wouldn't be able to deploy. We wouldn't be safe in the face of threats - natural or manmade. We would not be able to communicate and our facilities would fall into disrepair," Whipple said.

He noted that not only does the 127 MSG provide that support for the Michigan ANG at Selfridge, but provides many of those services to the more than 40 tenant commands from across the Dept. of Defense and Dept. of Homeland Security that operate at Selfridge.

Teff, an A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot for much of his career, has served in command positions at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center and at Selfridge.

"I truly appreciate the ability of the various groups that exist at Selfridge to come together to accomplish the mission," he said. "I believe, as Brig. Gen. Slocum said, that Col. Whipple is the right officer at the right time in the right place to move that mission forward."

About the 127th Wing
Comprised of approximately 1,700 personnel and flying both the A-10 Thunderbolt II and the KC-135 Stratotanker, the Michigan Air National Guard's 127th Wing supports Air Mobility Command and Air Combat Command operations by providing highly-skilled Airmen to missions domestically and overseas. The 127th Wing is the host unit at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, which marks its 98th year of continuous military air operations in 2015.