Hill unit may get woman commander

Hill Air Force Base may soon get its first-ever female commander for the Ogden Air Logistics Center if Sen. Orrin Hatch and Air Force officials get their wish.

Hatch, R-Utah, on Wednesday supported the Air Force's recommendation of Brig. Gen. Kathleen Close to head Hill's largest unit with about 23,500 employees. Hatch made his pitch during a Senate Air Force Depot Caucus meeting he hosted at the Capitol.

If President Bush and the Senate approve the proposal, Close would replace Maj. Gen. Kevin Sullivan, who has been nominated for a position in Washington, D.C.

"She's an exceptional leader with a distinguished record of leading Air Force maintenance operations," Hatch said in a prepared statement.

Hatch has promised that he will rush Close's confirmation process once it hits the Senate.

Hill spokeswoman Marilu Trainor said the Hill "team," which includes the 388th and 419th fighter wings, has many females in leadership positions that range in rank from major to lieutenant colonel and colonel. A few examples include Col. Sarah Smith, commander of the Defense Enterprise Computing Center at Hill; Col. Rebecca Weeks, judge advocate for the Ogden Air Logistics Center; and Col. Michele Smith, commander of Hill's 388th Maintenance Group.

The Utah National Guard recently saw women assigned to and retire from key leadership positions.

"We have been blessed by the tremendous service and contribution of numerous female commanders at every unit level in the Utah National Guard," said Maj. Gen. Brian L. Tarbet, adjutant general for the Utah Guard. "I congratulate Brigadier General Close on her new assignment. She'll do a terrific job."

One woman who has moved up the Utah Guard ranks is Lt. Col. Milada Copeland, who this year took over as commander of an estimated 500 soldiers with the 115th Engineer Battalion.

"For me, obviously, it's a huge honor," Copeland said Wednesday about her new job. "It's something that every officer always dreams of."

When Copeland was a company commander, she saw that being a battalion commander was in reach and set her sights on that post, which she considers a "definition of success." On her way up the military ladder, Copeland said she was never treated differently by her male counterparts.

"It's all soldiers and officers," she said. "I feel like I've always been accepted as part of the team."

When women like herself and Close move in among the highest ranks in the military, Copeland said, "it increases our equality."

"I'm always in favor of having more women in leadership roles," she said. "I think it underscores that women are achieving those types of positions."

Close is currently the director of maintenance, deputy chief of staff for Logistics, Installations and Mission Support for the Air Force headquarters in Washington, D.C.

In that position, Close is in charge of more than 150,000 technicians and managers, a $260 billion inventory and an annual budget of $20 billion. If she gets the job in Utah, Close would be promoted to major general.

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E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com