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Lt. Gen. Lee McFann assumed command from Lt. Gen. Glen W. “Wally” Moorhead III of the Allied Component Command Air Izmir Aug. 7.
General McFann, who is also the 16th Air Force Expeditionary Task Force
commander, has served in NATO before as E3A Component NATO Airborne
Early Warning Force commander.
At the ceremony, General McFann commented on NATO’s strengths.
“Within NATO we have 26 independent and separate nations, each with
their own established culture,” he said. “Each nation has their own
method of addressing concerns. I think this is a great strength.”
During the address, General McFann also challenged NATO to improve on the accomplishments already achieved.
“Here at Air Izmir we have some tremendous challenges – but I prefer to
call them opportunities. The opportunity to improve on the dedicated
hard work the Airmen before us have accomplished; the opportunity to
improve how our Air Forces work and train together; the opportunity to
ensure our operational procedures are understood and practiced; the
opportunity to ensure we take the best from each nation and offer that
to NATO; the opportunity to work with the Land Component and Naval
Component; the opportunity to make the sum greater than the individual
parts. And finally, the obligation to keep NATO as the greatest
alliance in the world.”
General McFann, who entered the Air Force through Officer Training
School in 1972, is a command pilot with more than 4,400 flying hours in
a variety of aircraft.
