WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- Lt. Col. James P. “Chevy” Chevalier assumed command of the 442d Maintenance Group August 3, 2024 in a ceremony held in the 5-Bay maintenance hangar here.
Chevalier previously served as one of two deputy MXG commanders under Col. William McCleod, and stepped into the command role after McLeod took a position in the South Dakota Air National Guard.
After starting his career as an enlisted Airman in emergency management, Chevalier earned his commission as a personnel officer in the 442d Force Support Squadron. He then moved on to be the 442 MXG executive officer, though he performed the duties of a maintenance officer, a role he eventually stepped into.
Chevalier left the wing briefly for career broadening logistics training, and returned to be McCleod’s deputy.
“I’d like to keep two concepts front of mind,” he said in his remarks at the ceremony. “Agency and gratitude.”
He acknowledged the unknowns of the wing’s future after the A-10 is divested, and encouraged Airmen to concentrate on things within their control, and to be keep a sense of awe for the greatness around them.
“How lucky that we get to serve in uniform in the world’s greatest Air Force with, for a season, the greatest attack jet.”