Howard tabbed as new commander of the 188th Civil Engineer Squadron
By Senior Airman Cody Martin, 188th Wing
/ Published August 02, 2015
EBBING AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Ark. --
Maj. Micheal Howard assumed command of the 188th Civil Engineer Squadron during a formal change of command ceremony held here August 1, 2015.
Col. Tenise Gardner, 188th Mission Support Group commander, presided over the ceremony and expressed what Howard's new job would entail.
"His job is to take an already phenomenal organization to the next level," Gardner stated. "I have full confidence that Maj. Howard will lead from the front, that he will do the right thing, and that he will act with integrity and [his Airmen] will grow under his command."
Howard joined the 188th CES in 1989 as an engineering assistant while still attending high school. Upon receiving multiple engineering degrees from the University of Arkansas in 1995 and 1998, he was commissioned as an officer in CE. His roles within CE include environmental engineer, readiness flight officer, engineering flight officer and base civil engineer before assuming command of the 188th CES.
"I am excited for the opportunity," Howard said in regard to becoming the 188th CES commander. "I look forward to leading the squadron into the future. I see a lot of new young Airmen entering the squadron and I want to have a positive impact on their lives and their careers."
Howard had a wished to express a unique way of informing what his goals were as commander by describing a multitude of instances in which the 188th CES has a history of showing hard work, commitment, a willingness to train and to learn, fitness of body, mind and spirit, as well as a positive attitude insight into current events and forward thinking to look in the future for opportunities.
Howard spoke of its beginnings and transformations through the years, including creating a rapid engineer deployable heavy operational readiness squadron engineer (REDHORSE) training center, in addition to many training opportunities, deployments and humanitarian missions.
The many examples Howard gave showed that his expectations are to continue the tradition of excellence through hard work, commitment and the ability to learn and grow.
"We have always had a terrific work ethic within CE, an attitude that leads to always getting the mission accomplished," Howard expressed. "My goals are simply to continue the tradition of excellence that CE has had in the past while looking forward to new challenges in the future."