Business as 'un'usual for historical 822nd CEF activation ceremony

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Julie Briden-Garcia
  • 301st Fighter Wing
NAS Fort Worth JRB, Texas --  While everyone struggles to find new and more economical ways to conduct business, one Air Force Reserve civil engineer flight found a way to conduct a very historic ceremony without spending a penny more than their normal UTA business expenditures.

The 822nd Civil Engineer Fight held their activation ceremony Feb. 2 at 10th Air Force Headquarters located at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, Texas, with Col. Frank Meyers, 622nd Civil Engineer Group, from Robins AFB, Ga., presiding via the telephone. Since the budget wouldn't allow Col. Meyers to travel to attend the ceremony, Col. Odom, 810th CEF commander, thought the next best thing would be to have him listen through a conference call. For official reasons, Lt. Col. Steve Mason, a traditional reservist with the 810th CEF, stood in as the presiding officer proxy.

"It is a dynamic time for the 822nd CEF. We joined the 622nd CEG in Oct. 2012 which brought many changes and the great opportunity to be aligned with the Air Force Civil Engineer Community," said Col. Gene Odom, new 822nd CEF commander.
The teleconference ceremony began when the flight's longest standing member, Senior Master Sgt. Jimmy Camargo, who represented the 810th heritage and history, retired the 810th CEF's colors. The flag was furled and cased in a matter of seconds signifying the end of one era and a new beginning.

"I am honored to have participated in the 810th Civil Engineer Flight's inactivation, an elite staff augmentation engineering team, that has supported numerous taskings worldwide," said Sergeant Camargo. "With the activation of the 822nd Civil Engineer Flight, I am ready to accept the new challenges that lie ahead for us, now that the 822 CEF has been realigned under the 622nd Civil Engineering Group and 22nd AF at Dobbins ARB, GA with support from the 94th Airlift Wing."

The 810th CEF heritage started with 10th AF back in Nov. 15, 1978 as the 10th Civil Engineering Flight in Bergstrom AFB, Texas. Then Oct. 1, 1994, it was re-designated as the 810th CEF and moved to Carswell Air Reserve Station, Texas, in Sept. 1996. Then in 2002, the 810th CEF moved into its permanent facilities collocated with Headquarters 10th AF at NAS Fort Worth JRB, Texas.

The newest member of the now deactivated 810th CEF, Capt. Mark Hope, stepped forward to unfurl and post the new colors to signify the activation and future of the 822nd CEF.

Some ceremonies must be accomplished and are mandatory by various governing DOD regulations. By conducting this type of historical ceremony that lasted less than 10 minutes via teleconference, the 822nd Civic Engineering Flight saved the Air Force Reserve Command more than $2,000. This may not seem like a large sum of money to some, but by multiplying the cost of how many ceremonies or conferences could lend themselves to this set-up style, the military stands to saves millions of dollars and will continue to complete the mission.