25th FTS command changes hands

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt Jason Bishop
  • Public Affairs
Vance Air Force Base, Okla. --  Command of the 25th Flying Training Squadron changed hands Thursday during a ceremony in the Vance Club.
Lt Col Nicholas Sandwick relinquished command of the 25th FTS to Lt Col
Leonard Litton.
Colonel Litton joins the 25th FTS after serving as the Vance chief of Safety.
Colonel Sandwick was reassigned to the 71st Operations Group, where he will serve as assistant deputy commander.
"One of the primary reasons I came to Vance was for the opportunity to command. I'm extremely excited to have the chance to lead the finest airmen in the world," Colonel Litton said.
"My tour of duty as the wing chief of safety has certainly prepared me to command a flying squadron.
"Vance's recent recognition as having the top flying safety program in Air Education and Training Command is a testament to how well the 71st FTW accomplishes the flying training mission," the new commander said.
A native of Banner Elk, NC, Colonel Litton entered the Air Force in 1985 after graduating from the Citadel as a Distinguished Graduate of the ROTC program. In 1998, he was selected to attend the Naval War College in Newport, RI, and received a Masters degree in National Security and Strategic Studies.
Following pilot training at Columbus AFB, Miss, he was assigned to the 92nd Tactical Fighter Squadron in Europe and served as an A-10 fighter pilot, instructor pilot, flight evaluator, and flight commander. In 1991, he was again assigned to Columbus AFB, Miss as a T-38instructor pilot. During this tour, Colonel Litton was named the AETC Flying Training Flight Commander of the Year. In 1994, he was selected as an initial cadre instructor pilot in the B-2 Stealth Bomber program at Whiteman AFB, Mo. He became the first Operations Officer of the newly activated 325th Bomb Squadron and accumulated more than 600 hours in the B-2. Following school, Colonel Litton was assigned to Headquarters Air Combat Command as a staff officer and later Deputy Division Chief of the Nuclear Operations, Arms Control and Counterproliferation Division.
A command pilot, he has logged more than 3,100 hours in the T-37, T-38, A-10 and B-2.