Channel Islands Leader to Head State Air Guard

The commander of the Channel Islands Air National Guard Base left his post Saturday to move to Sacramento to head the entire California Guard.

Brig. Gen. Tandy K. Bozeman, 53, replaces Maj. Gen. H. Robert Hall, who retired as head of the California Air National Guard.

Col. Daniel H. Pemberton, 51, air commander of the Channel Islands base in Port Hueneme, will take over Bozeman’s duties.

The two men formally assumed their new posts at a change-of-command ceremony attended by about 1,800 people--mostly crew members and reservists stationed at the Channel Islands base.

Bozeman, who had been with the Channel Islands wing since 1970, told the crowd: “For 21 years, I have been impressed by the quality and talent of the men and women at this base. . . . I am impressed at how serious you take your duty as citizen-soldiers.”

He said he is looking forward to his new job as commander of the California Guard and its 6,000 members but is sorry to leave the Channel Islands post.

“This is a good unit,” Bozeman said after the ceremony. “I leave with regrets.”

The 146th Tactical Airlift Wing at Channel Islands, with about 1,500 members, is the largest unit in the California Air National Guard.

The wing helped U.S. troops remove Gen. Manuel A. Noriega from power in Panama in December, 1989.

During the past year, more than 675 members of the wing participated in various missions in the Gulf and Europe.

“We did our part to ensure the mother of all battles became the mother of all retreats,” Pemberton told the crowd.

“Remember the accomplishments of the past,” he said. “Relish the challenge of the future.”

Pemberton said he is anxious to start his new duties as base commander. “It’s a real opportunity and challenge,” he said.

Both Pemberton and Bozeman said their main goal was to get updated equipment and purchase new planes.

“We need to keep the Air Guard strong and well-equipped,” Bozeman said.

Pemberton added: “Our aging C-130Es are the tools of our trade.

“Yes, we can continue to do the job with an airframe that’s more than 30 years old,” he said. “But we need more than that. We’ve earned more than that.”

Army Maj. Gen. Robert Thrasher, who oversees the Army and the Air National Guard in California, said both men are well-suited for their new positions.

“These are two distinguished, capable officers,” he said.

Bozeman, who lives in Thousand Oaks, has served in a variety of assignments at the Channel Islands base, including command pilot, squadron operations officer and air operations officer. He was named wing commander in 1988.

Pemberton, also a Thousand Oaks resident, joined the California Air National Guard in 1969 as a pilot. He was named air commander of the Channel Islands wing in 1988.