New commander shares goals, vision of wing mission

  • Published
  • By MSgt Andrew Biscoe
  • 439th AW Public Affairs
WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. --  Twenty-eight years ago, 2nd Lt. Steven Vautrain, fresh out of ROTC, visited Westover to get his first military ID card.

The young officer was as pleased with the reception he received that day as the one people gave him as a senior officer last month - as Westover's newest commander of the 439th Airlift Wing.

"I remember the outstanding support from the wonderful people here. They took care of me," said Col. Vautrain. "In fact, when I in-processed in August, I saw some of the same people from that first time I was here. They're still outstanding."
The colonel's near three decades of service includes a six-month deployment in 2009 to Kabul, Afghanistan, as chief, USTRANSCOM Deployment and Distribution Operations Center - Forward.

"This wing is about its people, and the 439th has an excellent reputation as the best wing in the command," Col. Vautrain told TSgt. Stephen Winn, public affairs broadcaster, during a taping Westover's base cable channel 50, in early August. The colonel plans to observe how the wing goes about its business for the first month of his time here.
And he looks forward to catching up with local sports favorites. "I had to leave the area for the Red Sox to win two series," he said. "The Red Sox and the Patriots are much better now," he said.

His roots trace to neighboring South Hadley, Mass., where his grandparents used to live and his mother still lives. Col. Vautrain remembered coming home to western Massachusetts from college.

His former position at U.S. Transportation Command at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., allowed him to see how Department of Defense air, land, and sea forces move enormous amounts of supplies all over the globe. "It was interesting to see all three work together," he said.

He's been at the controls of plenty of airlift missions too. A former C-17 pilot, Col. Vautrain has accrued more than 5,000 hours of five different types of Air Force aircraft. Now, he looks forward being able to focus on the airlift mission with the Air Force's largest - the C-5. But he knows the real strength in the airlift muscle is its people. "I'm very happy Maj. Gen. (James) Rubeor selected me," he said. "I see people still here when I stepped foot on the base 28 years ago," he said. "That speaks well for this base and the wing. I want to see people like that stay around."

And he believes his home state roots will suit him well. "I think they'll appreciate having a New Englander in command," Col. Vautrain said. He is scheduled to attend the C-5 schoolhouse at Lackland AFB, Texas, in October to become qualified on the C-5.

"Because I am known as a C-17 guy, people have been asking if Westover is getting those airplanes. We are not getting C-17s," he said, adding he looks forward to the renewed future of the Air Force's largest airlifter.
"I hope I'm still here in 2015 when the 439th is scheduled to begin flying the M-models."