Col. Beau Diers renders his first salute as commander of the 31st Fighter Wing during the change of command ceremony at Aviano Air Base, Italy, July 11, 2025. Diers took command of the wing from Brig. Gen. Tad Clark. (Jenna Bond/U.S. Air Force)
NAPLES, Italy — A decorated Air Force pilot who has flown more than 1,300 combat hours, including for U.S. operations in the Middle East, is now leading the service’s only permanently assigned fighter air wing south of the Alps.
Col. Beau Diers relieved Brig. Gen. Tad Clark of command of the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base on Friday, the installation said in a statement the same day.
Maj. Gen. Paul Moga, commander of the 3rd Air Force, presided over the ceremony, which included the traditional passing of the guidon.
In taking command, Diers noted Aviano’s high operational tempo but said “there’s no place I’d rather be because we’re busy with a purpose and what we do matters.”
The wing conducts and supports air combat operations and maintains munitions for NATO. It includes two F-16 fighter squadrons, two MQ-9 Reaper drone expeditionary attack squadrons, two combat search and rescue squadrons and the service’s only air control squadron in Europe, according to the Air Force.
Brig. Gen. Tad Clark, right, relinquishes command of the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base, Italy, to Maj. Gen. Paul Moga, head of 3rd Air Force, during a ceremony July 11, 2025. Clark was replaced by Col. Beau Diers. (Jenna Bond/U.S. Air Force)
The wing has more than 4,200 active-duty service members along with about 1,000 U.S. and Italian civilian employees, the service said.
Diers’ most recent assignment was as deputy commander of the Aviano wing, according to his Air Force biography.
He also served as a flight commander and instructor pilot for the 23rd Fighter Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany and as the chief of weapons and tactics for the 55th Fighter Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina.
In addition, he was a policy staff officer for NATO’s Allied Air Command in Germany, among other assignments.
Clark had commanded the wing since July 2022. His next assignment is as regional affairs director at Secretary of the Air Force international affairs.
He will be the final brigadier general to command the 31st Fighter Wing; future commanders will hold the rank of colonel, the Air Force said.
“What we have the opportunity to do as men and women in this uniform who serve our nation is an honor, a privilege,” Clark said in relinquishing command. “And when you do it right, with the right team, empowering them correctly, you’re able to strike success repeatedly, and that’s exactly what we’ve been able to do here.”
The change of command at Aviano came the same week as U.S. Army Garrison Italy welcomed its new commander.
Col. Scott Horrigan, outgoing commander of U.S. Army Garrison Italy; Tommy Mize, director of Installation Management Command Europe; and Col. Vaughn Strong, incoming leader of the garrison, from left, take part in a change of command ceremony at Caserma Ederle in Vicenza, Italy, July 9, 2025. (Paolo Bovo/U.S. Army)
On Wednesday, Col. Vaughn Strong took over from Col. Scott Horrigan in a ceremony at the Army’s installation in Vicenza, the service said in a statement the same day.
A U.S. Military Academy graduate, Strong most recently served as secretary of the general staff for U.S. Army Europe and Africa in Wiesbaden, Germany.
Horrigan, who had commanded the garrison since summer 2023, was praised for his commitment to community engagement and building rapport with Italian leaders, among other accomplishments.
His next assignment is with the Southern European Task Force, Africa at Vicenza, according to the statement.
USAG Italy hosts several tenant commands and includes Camp Darby, the Army’s logistical hub in Italy. The installation near Pisa includes prepositioned equipment, weapons, munitions and vehicles for use worldwide.
