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446th Airlift Wing commander Col. Bruce A. Bowers to retire

Bowers will miss the people most, not the furlough

446th Airlift Wing commander Col. Bruce A. Bowers leads the cheer at the 446th Unit of the Year ceremony in 2013. Courtesy photo

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People look forward to retirement for a variety of reasons.

"Starting on Aug. 12, I have no intentions to ever run again," said Col. Bruce A. Bowers, Jr., 446th Airlift Wing commander. "Unless I am being chased."

Bowers, who has been with the 446th at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, McChord Field for three years, will officially retire Aug. 11. Friday, Aug. 8 there will be a large reception and the retirement ceremony will be held Aug. 9.

"My plan is to ignore all the parties," joked Bowers, who added that his wife of 33 years, Kim, is against that plan.

"The celebration is as much about her, if not more ... she has embraced the role of Mrs. McChord and spends as much time as I do here - maybe more!" he added.

Bowers was commissioned in 1981, following his graduation from North Carolina State University. He served in the active duty Air Force for a decade before transitioning over to the Reserves, where he has spent the last 23 years due to its graciousness, according to him. In his role at McChord Field Bowers has been responsible for the organization, training and worldwide readiness of the almost 2,200 people who work within the 446th AW, which flies and supports the C-17 Globemaster III weapons system.

Over three decades, he has put up over 9,000 flight hours and is rated as a senior command pilot who has flown the T-37, T-38, T-41, C-9, C-141, KC-10 and, of course, the C-17.

According to Bowers, the thing that was the hardest during his tenure in command was the furlough last year.

"We put a local program in place to mitigate the issues and craziness that arose, from loans to services targeted at families," he commented. "We took something that was bad and we made it less bad."  

Bowers feels that issues like that have mitigated his effectiveness as the wing commander of the Air Force Reserves' premiere airlift wing because it hurts the airmen and their families.

"I was told over the years that you know when it is time to retire and I know this is it," he said. "It has been a tremendous opportunity to meet and work with so many great people ... so that is what I will miss, hands down, these people."

During his career, Bowers was awarded the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with six oak leaf clusters and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, as well as the National Defense Service Medal, among many other decorations.

Aside from his abilities in uniform, the airmen and civilians of the 446th will probably miss the character that is Bowers the most, from his sense of humor to his sense of adventure.

For instance, three weeks ago, Bowers just got on his Harley Davidson motorcycle at 6 a.m. Sunday and pulled into Myrtle Beach, S. C. at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

"I'd never done it before, it gave my wife a break from me and it seemed like a pretty good idea," he said, before adding that it also allowed for him to transport the bike back to South Carolina, where he and his wife will be heading at the end of August.

Bowers, a Charlotte native, is looking forward to heading back to the food, the people and the beautiful cities in the south ... plus it is where his mother still lives and where the Bowers' two adult daughters have settled.

"I am blessed but all of this is undeserved. I owe so many people a thank you so frankly I cannot begin to repay them," Bowers concluded. "This wing is the second best thing to happen to me, after my wife."

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