FORT RUCKER, Ala. -- Lt. Col. Darren M. Flowers became the "Squared Away" 1st Battalion, 11th Aviation June 23.
Flowers, formerly the Aviation support officer for 1st Special Forces Group, Fort Lewis, Wash., took over for Lt. Col. Garry L. Thompson, who commanded the unit since 2008. Thompson's next assignment is deputy chief of staff for the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence.
The unit falls under the 110th Aviation Brigade and manages the air traffic control services and flight simulator support for the USAACE rotary- and fixed-wing training missions and the National Airspace System.
It operates 22 air traffic control facilities, a centralized flight operations center and 92 navigational aids covering a radius of about 100 miles.
The unit supports the NAS by operating the Cairns Army Radar Approach Control that provides radar service to several municipal airports, including the Andalusia-Opp Municipal Airport, and Army airfields.
Col. Russell Stinger, 110th Avn. Bde. commander, welcomed Flowers and said he thinks the unit is in "extremely capable hands."
"The exceptional Soldiers standing before you will, no doubt, welcome you and ease this transition," he said.
Flowers commissioned as an Aviation officer in 1992 after graduating from North Carolina Central University. Upon graduating from flight school, he was assigned to 1st Armor Division, Hanau, Germany as both an OH-58 Kiowa flight platoon leader in 2nd Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment and as a UH-60 Black Hawk platoon leader for the 7th Bn., 227th Avn. Regt.
"It is an honor to join the brigade team," he said. "There's been no greater defining moment than today, as before me I behold the finest collection of aviation professionals in the Army today. I stand with you, not behind you, as we face every mission safely and with the utmost professionalism."
Stinger praised Thompson's service and wished him the best of luck in his next assignment.
"It's been a pleasure to work with (him)," Stinger said. "While being completely focused on the mission, (he) never lost sight of his duty to his Soldiers, his civilians and their Families. I've never met a more compassionate and caring leader. (He's) not going far, but he will be missed."
Thompson, a Chillicothe, Ohio native, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1989. He serves here with his wife, Mary, and their two children, Jebb, 12, and Addy, 8.
"The Soldiers on this field represent the finest group I've ever had the privilege to work with," he said. "Over the last two years, they have safely controlled over 2 million civilian and military aircraft throughout south Alabama and northwest Florida. No one flies over south Alabama without talking to someone from the 'Squared Away' battalion."
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