459th Civil Engineering Squadron is inactivated

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Brent Skeen
  • 459 ARW Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. --  The 459th Civil Engineer Squadron here was officially inactivated June 30, 2015 in a budget-saving move. 

The squadron's inactivation ceremony was held June 7, 2015. However, elements of the squadron will remain as the 459th Civil Engineering Flight, and will center around the explosive ordinance disposal mission.

They are great airmen, they've done a great job out here,  said Col. Thomas K. Smith Jr., 459th Air Refueling Wing commander.  The inactivation is not a reflection on them at all.

"This is purely a functional decision on personnel," Smith said. "The Air Force Reserve is only allotted a certain number of slots, and we've got to decide if we want to put that into cyber, or other areas where we are finding needs out there."

"We aren't  building new bases overseas," said Maj. Luke Stumme, commander of 459th CES. "But, you're always going to need CE.  Regardless of us shutting down there will always be a place for CE in the Air Force.  That mission will never go away."

"The vast majority of our people serve locally on a part-time basis, and force structure changes pose significant challenges for reservists," said Lt. Gen. James Jackson, commander of Air Force Reserve Command. "I will ensure that Reserve leaders at every level are doing everything they can to help reservists through the transition."

Nearly 100 reservists at the squadron will have a decision to make.  A few of them will be eligible to retire, but others may decide to relocate to another reserve unit, transfer to active duty or the Air National Guard, or find another career field within the wing.

The latter choice is something that Tech. Sgt. Robert Steele opted for.  Once an engineering assistant, he did surveying, map making, and construction management.  When he found out that his squadron was going to be inactivated he wanted to do some research of the history of the squadron.

It was then that Steele found out that the wing historian position was vacant.
"So, I approached the wing commander about applying for the wing historian position," Steele said.  "He interviewed me and said that I had the job."

"We've been able to make some positive changes due to the fact of a bad situation," Smith said.  "Based on his background, Sgt. Steele is very well suited to be historian.

"We also picked up an additional reservist in our financial management shop, and she has a financial background and wants to do that for her career, so some positive things have come out of it," Smith said.

"But what's bad for us is good for the Air Force," Stumme said. 

"What we are giving the Air Force now- as we find new homes -  is we are bringing our strong NCOs and Airmen - we have some great Airmen and NCOs," Stumme said. 

"We are bringing our excellence and attitude and we're taking it to new jobs -- we are taking it to new units to continue what the 459th was."