The command of the Arizona Air National Guard 162nd Wing changed hands in a ceremony Saturday at the Tucson International Airport, as Brig. Gen. Andrew MacDonald took command of the F-16 training wing.
Brig. Gen. Howard Purcell relinquished command to MacDonald, who returned to the 162nd after an assignment in Washington, D.C.
MacDonald also was promoted to brigadier general during the ceremony in front of family members and guests, as well as the more than 1,200 guardsmen under his command.
Purcell has been named chief of staff of the Air National Guard at the Joint Force Headquarters in Phoenix.
MacDonald started his military career as a Marine Corps aviator and joined the Arizona Air National Guard in 1998.
He served in multiple leadership positions with the 162nd Wing, including maintenance group commander. His most recent assignment was as executive assistant to recently retired Army Gen. Frank J. Grass, the previous Chief of the National Guard Bureau.
A command pilot with more than 4,400 combined flying hours, MacDonald is a graduate of the State University of New York at Binghamton and of the Naval Post Graduate School.
