(Radio Iowa) – Iowa National Guard Colonel Adam “Ace” Carlson is the new commander of the 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City. Carlson, who is from Lawton, Iowa, enlisted with the 185th in 1999 when it was a fighter wing flying F-16s. He returns after serving at the Pentagon and Andrews Air Force Base.

“Although I have done three tours out in the nation’s capitol, I consider myself a member of the 185th. It’s kind of a family affair. My dad retired out here. My sister’s out here. My wife’s out here. My brother-in-law’s out here,” he said. “…I bring a little different mindset to this position. I’ve spent some time out in D.C., so had some different positions, got some different knowledge base out there, so more of a strategic outlook is what I’m bringing back.”

The unit’s Stratotankers weigh over 322-thousand pounds when loaded with fuel at take-off and Carlson says getting a new runway is a priority. “It was never designed for this aircraft,” he says, “so to be able to ensure the longevity of the unit, we really need to ensure that our runway gets replaced.” The unit began flying the K-C-135 tankers in 2003. F-16 Falcons used the runway before that.

A formal change of command ceremony was held Sunday afternoon as Carlson takes over from Colonel Sonya Morrison. “Spent the last month connecting with one another, doing deep dives, doing the transfer over of command, so that way as he walks in ideally it’ll be seamless and it’ll be an easy transition for him,” Morrison said. Morrison has been commander of the refueling wing for the past three years. She’s heading to a new position at the Air National Guard Readiness Center at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

“My family and I are moving out to Washington, D.C. I will go to the Air National Guard Readiness Center. I’ll work in the Inspector General office out there and really just help other Air National Guard wings be prepared for combat readiness inspections and making sure that they are also ready to deploy.”

Colonel Morrison is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa and was commissioned in 1999 through the Army R-O-T-C program.