Hill making great progress after tough years, departing general says

HILL AIR FORCE BASE — A change of command at the Ogden Air Logistics Center is immediate. When Maj. Gen. Kathie Close yields command to Maj. Gen. Andrew Busch on Thursday, she leaves that day.

Busch will be in charge of the four wings that support Hill Air Force Base's major mission: making sure planes and missiles are ready for combat.

He'll be responsible for the good and the bad at the base.

It's similar to 2007 when Close took over for then-Maj. Gen. Kevin Sullivan, who was later demoted after four electrical fuses for ballistic missile nuclear warheads were mistakenly shipped from Hill Air Force Base to Taiwan in 2006. The shipment was supposed to contain helicopter batteries.

Even though Close wasn't the commander of the Ogden Air Logistics Center at the time, she received a formal reprimand once the mistake came to light.

"When you accept that flag on the stage, you take on the responsibility whether you know it or not," she said.

And she's spent the past year working to right the situation. A major investigation was launched and found weaknesses in logistics procedures. Supervisors have been removed or reassigned, Close said. New controls and procedures are in place. And when Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Air Force Secretary Michael Donley visited Hill on May 30, they gave Close the thumbs up.

But she knows there's more work to be done.

"I am very proud of what the center has done as a result of that investigation," Close said. "Was it tough? Absolutely."

On Thursday, Close, 52, will finish preparations for a cross-country drive to Ohio, where she will take the reins as director of logistics for Air Force Materiel Command. The new job will give the highest-ranked woman in Utah a chance to work on policies that affect materiel command bases.

Though Close doesn't consider the job a promotion, she will be able to direct policy for the three air logistics centers in the United States.

She said she hopes to make changes to the way mission assignments are done and to help the command shift from being purely functional to a more enterprising role.

All of that starts July 20 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where Close will see at least one familiar face. Col. Linda Medler, formerly commander of the 75th Air Base Wing at Hill, is chief of staff to Gen. Donald Hoffman, commander of the Air Force Materiel Command.

Wright-Patterson isn't exactly new territory for Close. This is her third assignment there since 2000. And that's where she was born.

E-MAIL: jdougherty@desnews.com

TWITTER: desnewsdavis