Air Force chief of staff and chief master sergeant visit 908th FTW

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David Wolfe visited Maxwell Air Force Base on April 9 to review the 908th Flying Training Wing’s transition into the formal training unit for the MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopter.

During the immersion, the service’s senior leaders met with Airmen from the 908th Maintenance Group and Operations Group, received updates on program milestones, and toured facilities supporting the wing’s conversion effort.

“It was a great opportunity to showcase the incredible amount of change managed by today’s Reserve Airmen as the 908th becomes the Air Force Reserve Command’s newest FTU,” said Col. Shane Devlin, 908th FTW commander. “Our Airmen embody the ‘Reserve Advantage’ highlighting what we provide to the Total Force nuclear surety mission every day.”

The 908th’s mission shift positions Maxwell AFB as the hub for training the aircrews who will operate the MH-139A, a modernized helicopter slated to replace the UH-1N Huey. The Grey Wolf, built on the AW139 airframe and produced in partnership with Boeing and Leonardo, brings increased speed, range, payload, and advanced avionics to missions that include security for intercontinental ballistic missile fields and other priority taskings across the nuclear enterprise.

Wing officials said the visit underscored the importance of Reserve Airmen in accelerating the Air Force’s rotary-wing modernization and in building a training pipeline that will equip crews for the Grey Wolf’s operational demands.

As the unit continues its transformation, leaders emphasized continued coordination across maintenance, operations, and training enterprises to reach full training capacity and support broader Air Force requirements.