JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
Air Force officials announced Oct. 29 that Col. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost will be the new commander of the 89th Airlift Wing here.
She will assume command from the wing's current commander, Col. Steven B. Harrison, during a change of command ceremony scheduled for February.
Colonel Van Ovost currently serves as the commander of Air Education and Training Command's 12th Flying Training Wing at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, and has served there since March 2008. She is a command pilot with nearly 4,000 flying hours in several mobility aircraft, including the C-17A Globemaster III, C-141B Starlifter and KC-135 Stratotanker. The colonel is currently a T-1A Jayhawk instructor pilot.
Before her current position, she was the 12 FTW's vice commander. Colonel Van Ovost is a 1988 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, and has seen duty as an experimental test pilot, pilot instructor, and squadron commander.
Colonel Van Ovost's awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters and the Air Medal.
Colonel Harrison, who took command of the wing in January, will become the deputy director of Operational Logistics on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon.
The 89th mission is enabling national interests through global transportation for America's senior leaders ... "Safe, comfortable, reliable, connected and protected!"