TAMPA, Fla. — After almost two years of leading the MacDill Air Force Base through a pandemic, Col. Ben Johnson handed over command Friday morning.
Col. Adam Bingham is now the new wing commander for the 6th Air Refueling Wing. A command pilot with more than 3,700 flight hours and more than 900 combat hours — he will now oversee the almost 17,000 employees and their families who live and work on the base.
Additionally, he's tasked with providing installation support to U.S. Central Command, U.S. Special Operations Command and 31 other joint mission partners on MacDill.
Bingham entered the Air Force in 2002. He comes from Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas. With more than 350 student pilots graduating annually, the military says Laughlin AFB is the largest pilot training base on Earth.
"Bingham has a Master's Degree in Executive Leadership and Strategic Studies and a Bachelor's Degree in Communications/Public Relations," a public affairs officer wrote in an email announcing the change of leadership earlier this week. "He is a pilot with more than 3,500 flight hours in the T-6, T-1, and C-17 aircraft."
According to a biography, at Laughlin AFB, Bingham managed the training of U.S. and allied pilots – while also overseeing 1,100 active duty, civilian and reserve personnel.
He was deployed overseas three times as a command pilot, logging more than 900 combat and combat support flight hours. You can read more about his military career by clicking here.