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COL. SCOTT C. LONG assumes command of the 388th Fighter Wing from Col. Scott J. Zobrist, Thursday. Courtesy photo
He was formally installed in his new position during a ceremony Thursday, where Col. Scott J. Zobrist relinquished those duties.
The new 388th FW commander is a combat pilot who has logged more than 2,700 flight hours. He completed more than 130 combat sorties in support of Operation Desert Storm, Southern Watch and Enduring Freedom.
He has received the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters and Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, among others.
Long received his bachelor’s degree in engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1988, an MBA from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in 1996, and a master’s in air power art and science from the Air Command and Staff College in 2000, as well as a master’s degree in military operational art and science the following year.
He has been heavily involved with the F-16, as a pilot at bases in Arizona and Georgia, an F-16 instructor pilot in Arizona and Japan, and has filled other assignments in Alabama, Washington, D.C., South Carolina, South Korea, Virginia and Alaska.
Long’s most recent assignment was as commander of the 455th Expeditionary Operations Group in Afghanistan.
The 388th FW was formed on Christmas Eve, 1942, as the 388th Bombardment Group at Gowen Field, Idaho. The group received extensive training on the B-17 Fighting Fortress at Wendover Field, Utah, and in 1943 it was transferred to Knettshall, England, flying its first combat mission in July of 1943 over the Netherlands to bomb an aircraft manufacturing facility.
During World War II, the group successfully flew 306 combat missions, earning four Distinguished Unit Citations.
It was deactivated following the war and reactivated in 1953 at Clovis AFB, New Mexico. It has been located at Hill AFB since 1975.
Zobrist will assume duties as commander of the 31st Fighter Wing, U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Aviano Air Base, Italy.
tbusselberg@davisclipper.com
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