A Change of Command ceremony for the 15 Wing Moose Jaw took place Thursday morning in Moose Jaw.

Command was transferred from Brigadier-General Daniel Coutts to Colonel Adam Carlson.

“I’m incredibly proud and honoured to be here. There’s a lot of trust given to me. And it is significant as a military aviator and a commander now. The weight of that command is significant because I have to serve and lead this team, and I’m responsible,” Colonel Carlson said.

Colonel Carlson is no stranger to Moose Jaw. Part of his training took place at 15 Wing Moose Jaw.

“I trained here on the tour quite a few years ago. As a student, you want focus. Your whole life is spent trying to learn and perfect and fly to become the best that you can. To come back here as the commander is pretty special,” he said.

He officially joined the Canadian Armed Forces in June of 1992 and officially received his pilot wings in 1997.

While in his role as commander, his goal is to focus on making the best military aviators they can.

“I want to make sure everyone does their best but also look after the team. It’s heavy. The responsibility is big. I want to make sure everyone is okay, and we do the best we can,” he added.

With a recent investment into military from Ottawa, the commander said it’s really going to help prepare aviators with cutting edge technology.

“Our challenge is going to be to prepare our students to fly cutting edge modern technology, modern aircraft, modern equipment. I think that we’re going to be called to produce a significant number of pilots.”