Correspondent photo / John D. Bagnola From left, 910th Airlift Wing Public Affairs Superintendent Bob Barko Jr., new 910th Airlift Wing Commander Col. Christopher Sedlacek and 910th Public Affairs Chief Capt. Donnie Hatheway, give the thumbs up after Sedlacek was sworn in Sunday morning. He is taking over for Col. Michael Maloney, who was 910th commander since July 2023. He departed in early March.

VIENNA — Members of the 910th Airlift Wing at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station welcomed Col. Christopher E. Sedlacek as their new wing commander Sunday morning.

Major Gen. Melissa A. Coburn, commander of the 22nd Air Force, Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Georgia, presided over the Assumption of Command Ceremony.

“Before even coming to Ohio, I was made well aware of the great community partnerships the Youngstown Air Reserve (Station) and the 910th Airlift Wing had developed in the past. We also have a lot of challenges coming up with the base, and we look forward to our community partners with their help and support. We will always be faced with challenges, such as the J-Model aircraft conversion and the upcoming deployment cycle as well,” Sedlacek said during his acceptance speech before nearly 150 airmen and women, family, friends and dignitaries. “With the J-Model we are transitioning between two weapons systems. We have to balance both our operations staff and our maintenance staff in capabilities to maintain the ability to fly both aircraft as we slowly transition. And when we receive the final aircraft in 2026, we will be ready with only a few final adjustments. But we also have some changes to the crew complement so we are going to have to find some other opportunities for some of our members. And we look forward to helping further their careers in that regard.

“I am looking forward to building and developing those relationships through the previous experiences I have had,” Sedlacek said.

Prior to his arrival at YARS, his assignment since 2022 was the 302nd Airlift Wing commander at the Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. Prior to that, Sedlacek spent more than six years at the 934th Airlift Wing at the Minneapolis Air Reserve Station. From May 2016 to September 2021, he was commander of the 934th Operations Group and from September 2021 until August 2022 as special assistant to the commander.

In 1997, he was commissioned through the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and later attended joint undergraduate navigational training. While on active duty, he served in Europe and later as a formal school instructor in the C-130 Aircraft.

He separated from active duty in 2004 and joined the Air Force Reserve. He also held numerous positions in the reserves, including squadron and group commander and major command staff officer. Sedlacek is a command navigator with more than 3,500 flying hours and has accrued more than 370 hours of combat flight time.

He said the biggest thing at the base will be communication. He wants all air reservists to feel valued and able to bring forth to the leadership any suggestions and ideas, and even challenges that they are facing.

“That is the benefit of being a reserve organization. Most of our members work out in the civilian sector and are exposed to a lot of situations and a lot of ways of doing business that the base can capitalize on to create greater efficiency,” he said.

The 910th is comprised of nearly 1,400 Air Force Reserve members in Vienna and is equipped with C-130H2 and C-130J aircraft. The wing is employed globally on medium range airlift, tactical airland, airdrop, Modular Aerial Systems and aeromedical evacuation missions.

Col. Michael Maloney, who was the 910th commander since July 2023, departed in early March.

Sedlacek graduated in 1997 from the Air Force Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in legal studies. While on active duty, he served at bases in the United States as well as a C-130 instruction navigator for the 37th Airlift Squadron at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany for more than three years.

Sedlacek was deployed five times in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Two of the eight new aircrafts have arrived, with the remaining six coming in stages until mid-2026. When a new C-130J-30 comes to YARS, one of the old C-130H aircrafts leaves YARS to be reassigned to the National Guard.

Compared to the C-130H, the C-130J reduces manpower requirements by two personnel per aircraft, lowers operating and support costs, flies faster, is more fuel efficient and provides life-cycle cost savings over earlier models.