5th FTS command changes hands Published Nov. 20, 2006 By Public Affairs Public Affairs Vance Air Force Base, Okla. -- Command of the 5th Flying Training Squadron changed hands in a ceremony at 10 a.m. Thursday in Hangar 170. Lt. Col. Dan Crawford accepted command of the squadron from Lt. Col. Gerald Kirchner. This is Colonel Crawford's third tour at Vance. His latest assignment was as chief of plans and programs at the 340th Flying Training Group headquarters at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. "I really appreciate the warm welcome I've received from the men and women of the 5th FTS and all of Team Vance," he said. "I look forward to work with the 71st Flying Training Wing again by continuing to provide highly-experienced instructor pilots for the pilot training mission." Colonel Crawford graduated from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, in 1984 as an Air Force Reserve Distinguished Graduate with a bachelor's degree in physics. Following Undergraduate Navigator Training at Mather AFB, Calif., he served as a B-52 navigator and radar navigator while stationed at Andersen AFB, Guam. In 1988, Colonel Crawford was selected to attend Undergraduate Pilot Training at Williams AFB, Ariz. After earning his wings, he was assigned as a B-52 pilot at Carswell AFB, Texas. In 1992, he was selected for the initial cadre of B-52 pilots at Castle AFB, Calif., providing the long-range force projection component for the first Air Intervention Composite Wing. In 1994, he was assigned to Vance as a T-37 instructor pilot, flight commander and chief of the functional check flight. In 1996, Colonel Crawford joined the Air Force Reserve as a C-130 pilot at Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio. While there, he deployed to Germany for Operation Joint Guard, flying missions into Bosnia supporting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's peacekeeping effort in the Balkans. In 1998, he was selected as assistant flight commander and later flight commander for the 5th FTS to form the Air Force Reserve's first integrated associate T-37 instructor pilot flight. He was then assigned his position at the 340th FTG before his return to the 5th FTS. Colonel Crawford is a command pilot with more than 5,000 flight hours in the T-6, T-37, T-38, B-52 and C-130. Colonel Kirchner moves to the 71st Operations Group to become the deputy commander. "I consider myself to be very blessed to have been given the opportunity to command the 5th," he said. "In more than two decades of service, I have never been associated with a more talented group of professionals. It is with a heavy heart Lani and I leave an organization which we have called home for a long time. However, we look forward to working for Col. (Douglas) Troyer and the entire 71st OG staff. Thank you Team Vance for your outstanding support." (71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs)