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Joint Base San Antonio Says Goodbye To Heather Pringle

Carson Frame / TPR News
Brig. Gen. Heather Pringle (left) and Brig. Gen. Laura Lenderman (right) hear remarks from Lt. Gen. Steven Kwast of Air Education and Training Command.

Brig. Gen. Heather Pringle relinquished command of the 502nd Air Base Wing and Joint Base San Antonio Wednesday at a ceremony at MacArthur Parade Field.

As the largest joint base in the Department of Defense, JBSA falls under the command of the 502nd Air Base Wing, headquartered at Fort Sam Houston. The wing provides municipal services and mission support for the whole installation, which has a population of nearly 80,000 service members and government employees.

Its responsibilities include food service, housing, security, emergency management, airfield operations support, supply, transportation and recreation programs, contracting, and communications.

Pringle was the 502nd’s fourth commander. During her tenure, she oversaw JBSA’s response to hurricanes Harvey and Maria, and developed a variety of community partnerships.

Lt. Gen. Steven Kwast, commander of Air Education and Training Command at JBSA-Randolph, praised Pringle’s leadership during the storms, and said the search for her successor had been exhaustive.

“A thousand acts of courage and decision-making and leadership by Heather Pringle have punctuated a tenure that deserves our respect, our admiration,” he said.

Before saying her goodbyes at the podium, Pringle took a moment to recognize the 200 military personnel who had assembled as part of the change of command ceremony.

“I’d like you to put them at rest,” Pringle told their commander. “Shake it out, guys. You’ve got just a couple minutes. I’ll be quick.”

She had special words for the 502nd Air Base Wing.

Credit Carson Frame / TPR News
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TPR News
Brig. Gen. Heather Pringle relinquishes command of the 502nd Air Base Wing.

  “Tens of thousands of people depend on you every day. Not a single one of you would let them fail,” she said. “You have excelled at every challenge, and each one brought us closer as a family. My favorite part is knowing that you take pride in every task from defending our base to building a base.”

Pringle will move on to Ohio's Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where she'll work with Air Force Materiel Command headquarters.

Her successor is Brig. Gen. Laura Lenderman, formerly the commander of the 375th Air Mobility Wing at Illinois’ Scott Air Force Base.

Carson Frame can be reached at carson@tpr.org or on Twitter @carson_frame