Wright-Patterson Air Force Base welcomes new commander in ceremony

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base welcomed their new commander in a ceremony Tuesday morning.

This comes after News Center 7 preciously reported the base had relieved Colonel Christopher Meeker of his command in December.

>> RELATED: Commander at Wright-Patterson AFB removed from command

News Center 7′s Taylor Robertson was there as Colonel Dustin Richards took over command.

Richards is now in charge of more than 5,000 military, civilian, and contractor employees.

“For the men and women of the 88th Air Base Wing, the message really is just to continue delivering the excellence they have been delivering for so long and keep up the mission that they are doing,” Richards said.

Meeker was removed as commander of the 88th Air Base Wing in December. The Air Force Material Command said it was due to a loss of confidence in his ability to lead.

>> ‘Hope he gets caught;’ Police search for man who broke into home, tried to sexually assault woman

Colonel Travis Pond Stepped in as Interim Wing Commander until Richards stepped in.

“It’s obvious how much it means to the community, it’s obvious how much the people here appreciate the community support, so to come into that at a leadership level it’s a huge responsibility and I want to live up to it,” Richards said.

For the first time in his long and decorated military career, he said his extended family and friends were able to show up to a ceremony like this for him.

“We’ve been in the Air Force for 23 years. My wife and I were joint spouses she is a retired JAG officer so 15 of those years we were navigating assignments together,” Richards said. “I think for my family it’s the start of a new adventure, it means a homecoming to Ohio and it’s a lot of excitement for all of us as we integrate into our new job.”

Richards said one of the things he is most excited to do is get to know his airmen and his new community.