Air Force Academy Quarterback Club of Denver hosts Colorado Air National Guard Commander

  • Published
  • By Capt. Elena O'Bryan
  • 140th WG/PA
BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. --  The 140th Wing Commander, Brig. Gen. Trulan A. Eyre, spoke to sixty members of the Air Force Academy Quarterback Club of Denver at the Valley Country Club in Centennial, Colo., Oct. 30, 2008, about the history, mission and capabilities of the Colorado Air National Guard. 

"The Air National Guard does 34 percent of the U.S. Air Force mission with seven percent of the budget," Eyre said. "We can do this because we have Traditional Guard Citizen Airmen who do the job when they're not performing their civilian jobs." 

The Colorado ANG has typically been manned at more than 100 percent throughout its history because of the dedication of its volunteer force, Eyre said. 

After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the 140th Wing of the Colorado Air National Guard expanded its mission focus into air defense beyond general purpose delivery of bombs to support ground forces during combat operations. 

"Even so, about every 18 months, your Colorado Air National Guard has been deployed over to Iraq to aid in the Global War against Terrorism," Eyre said. 

About 300 personnel are due back in Iraq in 2009. 

The Colorado Air National Guard' s sphere of influence has gone beyond Iraq.  Both the Kingdom of Jordan and Slovenia are partners with the Colorado National Guard through the National Guard' s State Partnership Program. The program aligns states with nations around the world to help them develop modern military forces, learn the concept of civilian control of the military, and establish civil-military relationships to aid the public during civil emergencies. Both countries want to start their own militias. 

The 140th Wing cannot train for its mission if residential encroachment on commercial zoning continues near Buckley Air Force Base, Eyre said. 

"If residential housing keeps squeezing Buckley, the U.S. Air Force may throw up its hands and leave rather than anger residents with noise pollution from its F-16 jets," he said. 

General Eyre was the first speaker who is not affiliated with the Air Force Academy coaching staff. 

"We wanted to start to have an awareness of who we have in the community who is an Air Force Academy graduate--in this case a the 140th Wing Commander," said Craig Ward, President of the Club. 

General Eyre graduated from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., in 1979.