EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The 96th Test Wing welcomed its new commander during a change of command ceremony here July 2.
Brig. Gen. Evan Dertien passed the guidon to the wing’s new leader, Brig. Gen. Scott Cain. The wing also bid farwell to Dertien, who is moving to Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, to become the director of Air Force Material Command’s Air Space and Cyberspace Operations.
“Command of an American military unit is one of the greatest privileges our nation can bestow. With it, comes tremendous responsibility,” said Brig. Gen. Christopher Azzano, Air Force Test Center commander and officiating officer. “It demands integrity, leadership and 24/7 sacrifice.”
A command pilot with more than 2,800 flight hours, Cain is no stranger to the wing’s mission. From June 2010 to July 2012, the 24-year veteran served as the 40th Flight Test Squadron commander here.
“To lead you to be ready to win our nation’s wars and to develop technology that makes us lethal in combat is my goal,” said Cain. “We’re on our way to becoming ready Airmen for the 21st century, but we need to aggressively prepare.”
Developing Airmen, bringing technology to warfighting and integrating operations were priorities Cain described as fundamental traits that make the U.S. Air Force the best.
“As your commander, I’ll lead you to be successful in the 21st century,” he said. “It’s a time where we need every one of you to be thinkers… to create and to solve unique challenges both at home and in unknown deployed environments.”
Cain received his commission from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1995. His career accomplishments include combat missions in support of Operation Southern Watch as an operational F-16 pilot, graduating from Air Force Test Pilot School in 2005, and serving as an Air Force fellow for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
The general comes to Eglin after serving as the commander of the Arnold Engineering Development Complex at Arnold Air Force Base, Tennessee.
“I look forward to all of us developing as Airmen, to develop the best technology for warfighting, and to develop resilient systems that integrate operations,” he said. “I look forward to continuing to make ourselves, our partners, Team Eglin and our allies the best armed forces in the world.”