Ogden weapons support unit welcomes new commander

With the SR-71 Blackbird as a backdrop, the Defense Logistics Agency’s Weapons Support at Ogden unit marked a change of command June 9 at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, as Air Force Lt. Col. Timothy Breitbach assumed leadership from Air Force Col. Kazimir Kostrubala. Brig. Gen. Patrick Launey, who leads DLA Weapons Support in Richmond, Virginia, presided over the ceremony attended by DLA personnel, local leaders and community partners.

The formal passing of the unit colors from Kostrubala to Breitbach signified the handover of authority and responsibility. In parting remarks, Kostrubala praised the Ogden team’s performance and commitment to the mission that supports the Ogden Air Logistics Complex.

“General Launey covered the true characteristics and core reason why we’re here and I just want to reiterate that, as a team we are here to fight,” Kostrubala said. “Everyone here at Hill has a role to play in making sure a component gets out to the field or an aircraft gets in the air and it has been a wonderful journey watching this happen during my time here. Continue to have faith in DLA and the mission of providing support to this amazing ALC. You have proven as a team to be trustworthy and dependable, and people are relying on you to deliver.”

He pointed to humility among supervisors as an accelerator for trust and faster decisions, and noted the workforce’s steadiness under pressure. “Folks will always point fingers at logisticians,” he said, “I am incredibly impressed by the men and women at DLA as they have endured this all-while keeping their eyes on the prize of ensuring warfighter support.”

Kostrubala’s next assignment will take him to Japan to command the 374th Mission Support Group at Yokota Air Base.

Breitbach arrives with a long-standing personal tie to the agency. “Our family owes a great deal to DLA,” Breitbach said. “We’re full of gratitude for the organization and for the men and women who make it what it is.”

He said he intends to align the Ogden team’s efforts with the Defense Department’s top priorities, from homeland defense and deterrence to revitalizing the industrial base and reinforcing alliances. “Our mission here supports each and every one of these priorities,” he stated firmly. “The capability we provide to our warfighters is one of, if not the critical component in the bedrock of homeland defense. The sustainment enterprise is our key to power projection and to deter our adversaries abroad. What we do here is the defense industrial base.”

DLA Weapons Support at Ogden underpins depot maintenance and flightline readiness by managing a vast inventory of consumable parts for the Ogden Air Logistics Complex and its industry partners. By synchronizing supply and demand with ALC maintainers, the team helps keep aircraft mission-capable and available for global operations—as even a single grounded platform awaiting a part can stall sortie generation.

Breitbach closed by pledging continuity and momentum. “The Air Force cannot successfully achieve its priorities without the work that our weapon systems support team does,” he said. “I’m humbled and grateful for this opportunity and I’m incredibly excited to meet you all, to learn from you, and work with you each and every day.”