Maj. Gen. Paul Moga, 3rd Air Force commander, and Cols. Kevin Crofton and William Lutmer, from left, stand at attention during the 52nd Fighter Wing change-of-command ceremony at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, on June 30, 2025. Lutmer took over command of the wing from Crofton, who led Spangdahlem for the past two years. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany — A new commander took charge of the 52nd Fighter Wing on Monday, a unit with airmen and fighter jets currently deployed to the Middle East.
Col. William Lutmer replaced Col. Kevin Crofton, who is heading to the U.S. Space Command at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado after two years at Spangdahlem.
The change of command ceremony was held in a hangar at this base in rural western Germany, whose airmen fly the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
“It is humbling to follow in the footsteps of those who led the wing in the past,” Lutmer told the 5,300 personnel he now oversees. “I look forward to working with and for this team of amazing warfighters.”
Lutmer comes from another fighter wing in Europe — Aviano Air Base in Italy — where he was the commander of the 31st Operations Group.
Maj. Gen. Paul Moga, 3rd Air Force commander, salutes Col. William Lutmer at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, on June 30, 2025. Lutmer took command of the 52nd Fighter Wing Standing from Col. Kevin Crofton, shown here standing behind him. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)
Airmen of the 52nd Fighter Wing stand in formation June 30, 2025, at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, while awaiting the start of a change of command ceremony. Col. William Lutmer took over from Col. Kevin Crofton, who is heading to U.S. Space Command in Colorado. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)
Airmen attend the 52nd Fighter Wing's change of command ceremony at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, on June 30, 2025. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)
Col. William Lutmer took command of the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, on June 30, 2025. Lutmer, a combat-experienced F-16 fighter pilot, comes to Spangdahlem from Aviano Air Base, Italy where he led the 31st Operations Group for the past two years. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)
From left, Maj. Gen. Paul Moga, 3rd Air Force commander, Col. William Lutmer, the new 52nd Fighter Wing commander, and Col. Kevin Crofton, the wing’s outgoing commander, sing the Air Force song at the close of a change-of-command ceremony on June 30, 2025, at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)
The F-16 pilot has completed four combat deployments, according to his biography. He has more than 2,900 flight hours in the F-16C/D, T-37 and T-38 and has held leadership roles including F-16 squadron commander and instructor at the Air Force Weapons School.
In October, airmen from various squadrons at Spangdahlem deployed to the Middle East to “help defend U.S. and coalition interests, promote regional security and deter potential adversaries in the region,” the wing said in a statement late last year.
It’s unclear whether those airmen remain deployed. The wing referred questions about the deployment to U.S. Central Command, which did not immediately respond to a query Monday.
But at least one of the wing’s more than two dozen F-16s from the “Warhawks,” the nickname of the 480th Fighter Squadron, is currently deployed.
The wing’s “flagship” aircraft, typically marked with the commander’s name and symbolizing the lead jet for the unit, was absent from the ceremony due to its role in the current deployment, base officials said Monday.
For Crofton, farewells to wing members still deployed will have to wait.
“Who would have thought you’d be gone by the time they actually get back?” Maj. Gen. Paul Moga, 3rd Air Force commander, said during his sendoff for Crofton.
At Peterson, Crofton will be the deputy director of Global Space Operations. He’s been selected for promotion to brigadier general, pending Senate confirmation, Moga said.
Without fail, Crofton had the wing ready to go at a moment’s notice, he said.
“Far and away the most important thing I look at out of a wing is whether or not they’re ready to go to combat,” Moga said. “Not tonight, not tomorrow, now. That is absolutely, positively the 52nd Fighter Wing.”
During his tenure, Crofton earned the Legion of Merit. His citation highlighted accomplishments such as securing a $2.2 billion special weapons stockpile upgrade and leading the development of a solar-powered aircraft shelter.
He also met “an extraordinary increase in demand” for airlift throughput and fuel support during the wing’s “historic response to the … war in Gaza,” the citation said.
In his remarks, Crofton singled out the wing’s staff sergeants, who he said “fulfill the most critical role of leadership” at Spangdahlem.
“Thanks for leaning in and making a difference, making a change in your airmen’s lives,” he said. “You’re the ones who know them. You fight for them, work their problems and challenge them to be better than you were when you were an airman.”
