Camp Murray, Wash. -- Lt. Col. Brian Bergren assumed command of the 225th Air Defense Squadron during a change of command ceremony at the Pierce County Readiness Center on Camp Murray, April 10, 2019.
The ceremony was presided over by Col. Scott Humphrey, 225th Air Defense Group commander.
Bergren replaced Col. Brett Bosselman, who became the new 225th Support Squadron commander.
At the beginning of the ceremony, Brig. Gen. Jeremy Horn, Washington Air National Guard commander, explained that he and Bergren served together in Utah in 2003. At that time Bergren asked him about the AGR program and serving in the Washington National Guard. Horn explained that, “it [Washington National Guard] would be an opportunity of a lifetime that it will be great for his family but also add value to the organization…Bergren has gone on to do great things like graduating from USAF Weapons School, serving as the WADS director of staff, and more recently working on developing relationships with Malaysia through the State Partnership Program. I think he is working out pretty well.”
After assuming command, Bergren addressed the members of the Western Air Defense Sector and reinforced his top three priorities for the 225th ADS: guarding America’s skies 24/7/365, train to fight by building, leading and teaching the next generation of air defenders, and building people and capability by mentoring formally and informally up and down the chain. “We are to communicate and most importantly empower our people,” explained Bergren.
Bergren went on to explain that he wants to reemphasize the squadron values as he takes command and asked “what IMPACT do you have on the organization?” For Bergren, IMPACT is an acronym that means:
I: Innovation - fostering innovation by bringing ideas from the ground up
M: Mentoring
P: Professionalism – holding ourselves to higher cultural and professional standard
A: Accountability – we own everything we do whether it is good or bad
C: Courage – the courage to make the tough decisions when it matters the most
T: Teamwork – we succeed or fail as a team and we can’t do it alone
As part of enhancing the esprit d ’corps, Bergren resurrected the unit pride with shouting out “Bigfoot” and the audience replied with a loud “stomp” as he ended his comments.
Bergren graduated from the University of Central Florida, Orlando in 1999. He is a Senior Air Battle Manager and his military career includes assignments in mobile Control and Reporting Centers and North American Air Defense Command Air Defense Sectors. He deployed to Southwest Asia in the lead ground-based command and control unit during operations Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom. He has been certified as Combat Mission Ready as a Weapons Director, Senior Director, Air Surveillance Officer, Mission Crew Commander and Red Switch Coordinator. He is also graduate of the United States Air Force Weapons School. Prior to assuming his current position, Bergren served as the 225th ADS director of operations.