439th MSG commander pins on colonel

  • Published
  • By William C. Pope
  • 439th Airlift Wing

The 439th Mission Support Group held a pinning on and promotion ceremony for their commander, Col. Brandon W. Stepp, May 1 at the Westover Conference Center.

Stepp, who has filled the role of MSG commander since April 2020, officially promoted to colonel on April 7.

Col. Joseph D. Janik, 439th Airlift Wing commander, presented Stepp with his silver eagles during the ceremony.

Janik likened the job of Mission Support Group commander to the job of a city mayor.

“I look to Col. Stepp as the mayor, if you will, of this city,” he said. “It is quite an accomplishment for Col. Stepp to get to where he is in his career.”

After Janik officially presented him the promotion, Stepp’s wife and family pinned on his new rank.

During the ceremony, Stepp thanked all that attended and gave a special thank you to his wife and children. During his speech he spoke to climbing the career ladder.

“Make yourself professionally uncomfortable and your family as comfortable as possible,” he said.

As the MSG commander Stepp will lead more than one-thousand Citizen Airmen and civilians in seven squadrons and four functional areas that provide peacetime and contingency mission readiness support for the Air Force Reserve Command. The MSG provides support services for over 4,700 installation personnel encompassing the 439th Airlift Wing as well as 15 tenant organizations.

Stepp is no stranger to Westover Air Reserve Base. He served as the 439th MSG deputy commander from December 2016 to July 2018.

He was commissioned in 2002 as a graduate of the ROTC program at the University of Alabama. He has served in a variety of positions at the installation, Numbered Air Force, Major Command, and Joint Staff levels. He has also served in a variety of statuses to include Regular Air Force, Traditional Reserve, Active Guard/Reserve and is currently an Air Reserve Technician. His notable staff tours include Executive Officer to the commander Fourth Air Force; Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command Logistics Readiness Officer Functional Area Manager; and Strategic Planner on the Joint Staff.