Maj. Gen. Stacy Jo Huser, 20th Air Force commander, and Col. Michael Power, outgoing 377th Air Base Wing and installation commander, applaud Col. Justin Secrest, center, after he assumed command of the wing during a change of command ceremony, July 1, at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. (Donnell Schroeter/U.S. Air Force)
(Tribune News Service) —Members of the 377th Air Base Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base gave a final salute to one colonel before welcoming another.
Col. Justin D. Secrest took over as base commander for Col. Michael J. Power, who had commanded the wing since June 2023. Power will head to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana and serve as inspector general for the Air Force Global Strike Command.
Secrest said he was about a year into his Air Force career in 1989 when he saw Kirtland and thought, “This was a real Air Force base.”
“I never dreamed of ever being back here to do this, so it is not being taken lightly,” he said during Tuesday morning’s change-of-command ceremony, a military tradition where a guidon is ceremoniously transferred from one leader to the next.
Secrest was previously the commander of the 90th Security Forces Group at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Before that, he served as the 886th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron’s interim commander and oversaw the end of the Air Force Security Forces mission inside Iraq’s theater internment facilities.
Secrest also served at Barksdale Air Force Base where he was responsible for developing and executing security policies, plans, and programs for eight installations, and overseeing training for 5,800 Security Forces, which are responsible for tasks like missile security and defending air bases around the world.
At Kirtland, Secrest said he will be “joining an amazing team comprised of the most talented, capable and lethal air and space professionals in a world with a mission that is essential to national security.”
The 377th Air Base Wing is responsible for installation operations, security, maintenance, medical care and mission support for 25,000 military and civilian employees, 27,000 retirees and 20,000 family members who live and work on the base.
This is an opportunity to follow the work that Power and his team did “and build on their huge progress to make a lasting impact on this installation and community ,” Secrest said.
Secrest said he not only looks forward to leading the base, but learning about his new community.
“I realize we got a lot of great people here and a lot of great people that I can’t wait to connect with,” Sequest said. “Let’s go to work.”
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