New Mexico Minuteman - Fall 2011

150th Fighter Wing moves forward with
new commander
By Tech. Sgt. Kathee Mullins, 150th Fighter Wing/Public Affairs
In view of recent events, The Adjutant General, Kenny C. Montoya,
spoke with members of the 150th Fighter Wing at Kirtland
Air Force Base, in Albuquerque, N.M. He emphasized about
learning from our past, gaining insight as leaders, and why the
decision for the new wing commander is a solid choice for the
bright future of the wing and the multiple missions entrusted to
the (150th) defenders.
That new wing commander is Col. Joe Martinez.
“The fi rst time I saw Col. Joe Martinez, he was coming from
his F-16. He shook hands with his crew and he treated them like
equals. From Princeton to combat, he is the perfect guy to lead
this wing,” said Montoya. “I want to tell you how proud we are of
you and how great you are, but I also want to challenge you to be
better, ‘Beyond the Standard,’” said Montoya in closing.
Assistant Adjutant General of the Air National Guard, Brig.
Gen. John D. Bledsoe took the podium to thank the family and
friends in attendance for being present and for their continued
support.
“We selected ‘Jo-Mart’ (Martinez) for his expert, capable leadership
abilities. He is quite a visionary and will take us to new
heights,” said Bledsoe. “We have every confi dence in his abilities
as a leader.”
Martinez then took the opportunity to address the wing defenders
for the fi rst time as their commander.
“I will lead from the front,” he said. “Col. Gallegos set the path.
We have gone from F-16s to multiple missions. That’s a big change
and with change comes uncertainty and doubt. We now have four
great missions and we are moving forward.”
The 150th FW is a classic associate wing with the 58th Special
Operations Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base. New Mexico
Air National Guardsmen work side by side with members of the
58th SOW instructing combat aviators in aircraft such as the HC-
130P/N Combat King, MC-130P Combat Shadow, UH-1N Huey,
and HH-60G Pave Hawk.
Along with the classic association, the 150th FW has two additional
missions. The fi rst mission is to be an Intelligence Target
Production Center performing imagery and computer analysis for
target planning. The second is to be a highly mobile civil engineering
response force to support contingency operations worldwide
known as Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair
Squadron Engineers, or RED HORSE.
“We have tremendous opportunities before us…we have a great
heritage, and we are not looking back; we are moving forward,”
said Martinez. “We are fi ghting the fi ght. Our greatest resource is
our people.
2 NEW MEXICO Minuteman / Fall 2011
Brig. Gen. John D. Bledsoe, left, hands off the command of the NMANG
150th Fighter Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base to the newly appointed commander,
Col. Joe A. Martinez on Aug. 6, 2011. Photo: Staff Sgt. Roberto Bilbao
“We won’t lose our identity; we are Citizen-Soldiers—New
Mexico National Guardsmen and women. We have a long heritage
of helping our communities, and a proud legacy as Citizen-
Soldiers. We will keep our identity and move forward.”
Martinez most recently was the commander of the 150th
Operations Group and has extensive fl ying and leadership experience.
His previous assignments include fl ight commander, chief
of standardization and evaluation for squadron and group levels,
assistant operations offi cer, chief of wing plans, and deputy commander
of the 150th Maintenance Group.