ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE - Ellsworth Air Force Base lost one Air Force family Friday but gained another one. A big one.

As Col. Scott Vander Hamm was welcomed as Ellsworth's new 28th Bomb Wing commander at a ceremony Friday, so were his wife, six daughters and four sons.

"The Air Force has sent us another great leader and another great Air Force family - and, I might add, a very large family," Lt. Gen. Norman R. Seip said.

Seip, who is the commander of the 12th Air Force and Air Forces Southern at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., oversaw the change-of-command ceremony.

During the ceremony - which was attended by Ellsworth airmen and community members - Seip welcomed Vander Hamm and bid farewell to Col. Jeffry Smith, who has overseen the 28th Bomb Wing for the past two years.

Smith is headed to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., where he will serve as deputy director of Air Force Con Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force.

Vander Hamm was previously stationed at Dyess AFB in Abilene, Texas, as the 7th Operations Group commander.

He has more than 4,100 flying hours under his belt and has received awards including the Distinguished Flying Cross and Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

After the ceremony, Vander Hamm joked that after managing such a large family, taking over a bomb wing should be no problem.

Seip said he expected a "seamless transition" at the base from Smith to Vander Hamm.

"Vandy brings a vast knowledge of Air Force Operations he's developed during his career," Seip said, describing Vander Hamm's experience as a combat veteran and leader overseas.

Vander Hamm led an expeditionary group during Operation Enduring Freedom.

Smith, who oversaw 8,000 combat hours and 1,000 air strikes during his tenure at Ellsworth, was also awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for his service at Ellsworth.

Seip called Smith a "strong and decisive leader."

"Jeff's leadership has been critical and key to the wing's successes," he said.

During the ceremony, Smith discussed some of the challenges that he and the rest of Ellsworth faced during his tenure, such as the threat of the base's closure and the opening of the new Air Force Financial Services Center. Those challenges were faced while deploying troops overseas, he said.

"It has indeed been an honor and a privilege to have served with you," Smith said to the audience. "We arrived with great joy, and we leave with greater joy knowing that we are a stronger, safer, more capable and more lethal combat flying wing today."

Smith also welcomed Vander Hamm to the base.

"Scott, you have had a distinguished career and have filled many influential positions in our Air Force," he said. "You bring a great deal of experience to Ellsworth - on and off the flight line - and I'm so happy to know the wing will be in great hands."

Vander Hamm called Friday an "exciting day" for him and his family and said his goals will be to find the most efficient ways to complete tasks on the base, especially with Air Force resources that are spread thin because of the war.

Finding those increased efficiencies is more for the airmen working the jobs than the colonel overseeing them, he said.

He said he will serve in a much broader role at Ellsworth than he did in his former capacity at Dyess, where he led the group responsible for the Air Force's B-1 Lancer bomber formal training unit.

"I'm kind of stepping out of the stovepipe - (from) just making sure the airplanes are flying safe to looking at, now, the whole gamut and the process of the bomb wing," he said.

Vander Hamm said he expects a lot out of his airmen and wants to get everything he can from them.

"That's my job, is to make sure they're ready to go mentally, physically, spiritually - everything across the board," he said.

Watch a slideshow of the day's events.

Contact Ryan Woodard at 394-8412 or ryan.woodard@rapidcityjournal.com