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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 6, 2008 No. 08-026 CHANGE OF COMMAND SET FOR MARCH 8 AT KANSAS NATIONAL GUARD'S 190TH
AIR REFUELING WING Col. Keith I. Lang will become commander of the Kansas National Guard's
190th Air Refueling Wing during a ceremony on Sat., March 8 at 9 a.m.
Lang will assume the reins of command from Col. Gregg A. Burden, who has
commanded the 190th since August 2003. The ceremony will take place in
Hangar 662, Forbes Field Air National Guard Base, Topeka. Lang is the first traditional Guardsmen to command the 190th. In his
civilian career, he is a commercial airline pilot. "I am honored in the trust that has been placed in me and look forward
to the opportunities ahead. Colonel Burden has left the 190th in superb
shape and I'm excited about the future and foresee even greater things
to come," said Lang. "These past 4½ years have been the highlight of my military
career. The opportunity to work with the best in the Air National Guard
has been an extraordinary experience. It is my firm belief that Colonel
Lang's experience and leadership will allow the 190th to continue and
build upon it's reputation as the Standard of Excellence," said Burden. Col. Keith I. Lang Colonel Keith I. Lang is currently the director of operations for Joint
Forces Headquarters Kansas, coordinating Air Operations for NAF, State
Headquarters and a KC-1 35R Air Refueling Wing involving over 3,000 flying
hours and over 500 missions flown worldwide annually. Prior to his current
position, Lang was the 190th Tanker Strategic Aircraft Reconstitution
Team commander. As the Commander he commanded all TSART resources and
had overall responsibility for the accomplishment of the team's assigned
survival, recovery and reconstitution mission. Lang was born in Fargo, North Dakota, and moved to the Kansas City area,
where he has lived for over 43 years. Lang joined the North Dakota Air
National Guard at the age of 19 as an F-4 Phantom crew chief. Selected
for pilot training by the 190th Air Refueling Wing in 1981, he was commissioned
as a second lieutenant. In 1982, he graduated from pilot training and
attended Combat Crew Training at Castle Air Force base, Calif. Since 1982 Lang has flown the KC-135A, KC-135D, KC-135E and KC-135R aircraft
and has accumulated over 4,000 flying hours as a military command pilot
and over 20,000 total jet hours. He has served his country by participating
in several operations, including Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm
and Northern Watch, logging over 130 hours during 31 combat support sorties. Col. Gregg A. Burden Col. Gregg A. Burden is the wing commander, 90th Air Refueling Wing,
Forbes Field. Topeka, Kansas. As wing commander he orchestrates an annual
budget in excess of $45 million while executing a 3,000+ hour flying program.
He leads more than 900 Air National Guard military personnel and a full-time
workforce of approximately 400 personnel. Burden supervises the Wing's
participation in JCS-directed joint operations, providing worldwide aerial
refueling and augmenting national airlift resources He ensures the Wing
maintains day-to-day alert and remains mission ready in support Single
Integrated Operational Plan nuclear deterrence tasking. Burden entered the Air Force in 1982 through the Reserve Officer Training
Corps and joined the Kansas Air National Guard in 1991. He has served
in several leadership and command positions at both the squadron and wing
levels. A command pilot, he has logged more than 4,700 hours in military aircraft,
including combat support missions during Operation Northern Watch, Operation
Allied Force, and Operation Deliberate Guard. Burden and his wife, Chris,
have two children, Jessica and Jonathan. -30- |
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