Iowa National Guard Colonel Adam “Ace” Carlson is the new commander of the 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City.
Carlson, who is from Lawton, Iowa, enlisted with the 185th in 1999 when it was a fighter wing flying F16s. He returns after serving at the Pentagon and Andrews Air Force Base.
“Although I have done three tours out in the nation’s capitol, I consider myself a member of the 185th. It’s kind of a family affair. My dad retired out here. My sister’s out here. My wife’s out here. My brother-in-law’s out here,” he said. “…I bring a little different mindset to this position. I’ve spent some time out in D.C., so had some different positions, got some different knowledge base out there, so more of a strategic outlook is what I’m bringing back.”
The unit’s Stratotankers weigh over 322,000 pounds when loaded with fuel at take-off and Carlson said getting a new runway is a priority. “It was never designed for this aircraft,” he said, “so to be able to ensure the longevity of the unit, we really need to ensure that our runway gets replaced.”
The unit began flying the KC-135 tankers in 2003. F16 Falcons had used the runway before that. A formal change of command ceremony was held Sunday afternoon as Carlson takes over from Colonel Sonya Morrison.
“(We) spent the last month connecting with one another, doing deep dives, doing the transfer over of command, so that way as he walks in ideally it’ll be seamless and it’ll be an easy transition for him,” Morrison said.
Morrison has been commander of the refueling wing for the past three years. She’s heading to a new position at the Air National Guard Readiness Center at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. “I’ll work in the Inspector General office out there and really just help other Air National Guard wings be prepared for combat readiness inspections,” she said, “and making sure that they are also ready to deploy.”
Colonel Morrison is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa and was commissioned in 1999 through the Army ROTC program.
(By Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City)