Utah's Hill Air Force Base loses a squadron

Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune
Maj. Jason Ross, 388th Maintenance Operations Squadron commander, right, watches as Col. Dane P. West furls the flag symbolizing the official close of the squadron during a deactivation ceremony in Ogden Friday June 28, 2013. The squadron is the smallest of its kind in the Air Force, with just 150 people, and was chosen to be inactivated a year ago as part of an Air Force-wide restructuring initiative. The idea is to better allocate company and field grade officers to needed positions.

Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune
Members of the 388th Maintenance Operations Squadron at Hill Air Force Base gather for a deactivation ceremony in Ogden Friday June 28, 2013. The squadron is the smallest of its kind in the Air Force, with just 150 people, and was chosen to be inactivated a year ago as part of an Air Force-wide restructuring initiative. The idea is to better allocate company and field grade officers to needed positions.

Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune
Members of the 388th Maintenance Operations Squadron at Hill Air Force Base gather for a deactivation ceremony in Ogden on Friday. The squadron is the smallest of its kind in the Air Force, with just 150 people, and was chosen to be deactivated a year ago as part of an Air Force-wide restructuring initiative. The idea is to better allocate company and field grade officers to needed positions.

Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune
Members of the 388th Maintenance Operations Squadron at Hill Air Force Base gather for a deactivation ceremony in Ogden Friday June 28, 2013. The squadron is the smallest of its kind in the Air Force, with just 150 people, and was chosen to be inactivated a year ago as part of an Air Force-wide restructuring initiative. The idea is to better allocate company and field grade officers to needed positions.

Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune
Members of the 388th Maintenance Operations Squadron at Hill Air Force Base gather for a deactivation ceremony in Ogden Friday June 28, 2013. The squadron is the smallest of its kind in the Air Force, with just 150 people, and was chosen to be inactivated a year ago as part of an Air Force-wide restructuring initiative. The idea is to better allocate company and field grade officers to needed positions.

Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune
Members of the 388th Maintenance Operations Squadron at Hill Air Force Base gather for a deactivation ceremony in Ogden Friday June 28, 2013. The squadron is the smallest of its kind in the Air Force, with just 150 people, and was chosen to be inactivated a year ago as part of an Air Force-wide restructuring initiative. The idea is to better allocate company and field grade officers to needed positions.

Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune
Capt. Andrew Cobb, 388th Maintenance Operations Squadron commander, talks to his squadron prior to a deactivation ceremony in Ogden Friday June 28, 2013. The squadron is the smallest of its kind in the Air Force, with just 150 people, and was chosen to be inactivated a year ago as part of an Air Force-wide restructuring initiative. The idea is to better allocate company and field grade officers to needed positions.

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Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Maj. Jason Ross, 388th Maintenance Operations Squadron commander, right, watches as Col. Dane P. West furls the flag symbolizing the official close of the squadron during a deactivation ceremony in Ogden Friday June 28, 2013. The squadron is the smallest of its kind in the Air Force, with just 150 people, and was chosen to be inactivated a year ago as part of an Air Force-wide restructuring initiative. The idea is to better allocate company and field grade officers to needed positions. Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Members of the 388th Maintenance Operations Squadron at Hill Air Force Base gather for a deactivation ceremony in Ogden Friday June 28, 2013. The squadron is the smallest of its kind in the Air Force, with just 150 people, and was chosen to be inactivated a year ago as part of an Air Force-wide restructuring initiative. The idea is to better allocate company and field grade officers to needed positions. Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Members of the 388th Maintenance Operations Squadron at Hill Air Force Base gather for a deactivation ceremony in Ogden on Friday. The squadron is the smallest of its kind in the Air Force, with just 150 people, and was chosen to be deactivated a year ago as part of an Air Force-wide restructuring initiative. The idea is to better allocate company and field grade officers to needed positions. Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Members of the 388th Maintenance Operations Squadron at Hill Air Force Base gather for a deactivation ceremony in Ogden Friday June 28, 2013. The squadron is the smallest of its kind in the Air Force, with just 150 people, and was chosen to be inactivated a year ago as part of an Air Force-wide restructuring initiative. The idea is to better allocate company and field grade officers to needed positions. Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Members of the 388th Maintenance Operations Squadron at Hill Air Force Base gather for a deactivation ceremony in Ogden Friday June 28, 2013. The squadron is the smallest of its kind in the Air Force, with just 150 people, and was chosen to be inactivated a year ago as part of an Air Force-wide restructuring initiative. The idea is to better allocate company and field grade officers to needed positions. Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Members of the 388th Maintenance Operations Squadron at Hill Air Force Base gather for a deactivation ceremony in Ogden Friday June 28, 2013. The squadron is the smallest of its kind in the Air Force, with just 150 people, and was chosen to be inactivated a year ago as part of an Air Force-wide restructuring initiative. The idea is to better allocate company and field grade officers to needed positions. Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Capt. Andrew Cobb, 388th Maintenance Operations Squadron commander, talks to his squadron prior to a deactivation ceremony in Ogden Friday June 28, 2013. The squadron is the smallest of its kind in the Air Force, with just 150 people, and was chosen to be inactivated a year ago as part of an Air Force-wide restructuring initiative. The idea is to better allocate company and field grade officers to needed positions.

By Kristen Moulton The Salt Lake Tribune

· June 28, 2013 12:22 pm

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Hill Air Force Base is losing an operation squadron Friday as part of an Air Force-wide initiative to have the right number of people in the right jobs.

The 388th Maintenance Operations Squadron was deactivated in an afternoon ceremony on base. The 150 members of the squadron, which supports F-16 operations, will now fall under a different squadron.

Col. Dane West, 388th Maintenance Group commander, said in a news release that the inactivation stems from an Air Force need to correct an imbalance in the numbers of certain personnel.

The move is not directly related to sequestration, said Andrea Mason, a spokeswoman for the 388th. Congressional sequestration is requiring military-wide cuts and furloughs.

The 388th MOS traces its roots to 1942. It came to HAFB in 1991 as the 388th Logistics Support Squadron and was given its current name in 2002.

Three times, in 1992, 1996 and 2003, it was awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award.

kmoulton@sltrib.com

Twitter: @KristenMoulton