Westover commander Robert R. Swain Jr. is being promoted to brigadier general and is being transferred to the Pentagon.
The new commander of the 439th Airlift Wing at Westover Air Force Reserve Base, Col. Steven D. Vautrain and his wife Katie enjoy the July Fourth festivities in Springfield's Riverfront Park.CHICOPEE – Steven D. Vautrain, an Air Force colonel who has ties to Western Massachusetts, will take over as the commander of the 439th Airlift Wing at Westover Air Reserve Base in August.
He will replace wing commander Robert R. Swain Jr., who is being promoted from colonel to brigadier general and is being transferred to work with the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon.
Vautrain, who is currently stationed at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois working in the U.S. Transportation Command, will take over as wing commander at Westover during an official ceremony Aug. 6.
Vautrain said he joined the Air Force 28 years ago, serving a dozen years on active duty and then transferring to the Air Force Reserves. He is a pilot and has flown a variety of planes, including the C-17 Globemaster, the C-130 Hercules and the T-37 Tweet.
But he has never flown the C-5 Galaxy jet that is used by the 439th Airlift Wing. “I’m going to training for that. I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
He has also served oversees, having been deployed to Afghanistan for six months and Iraq for four months. Vautrain said he has also flown multiple missions to the two countries.
View full sizeCol. Robert R. Swain Jr., commander at Westover Air Reserve Base.“I’m from Massachusetts and my grandparents used to live in South Hadley. I got my first military ID from Westover,” Vautrain said.
Vautrain grew up in Winchester and his wife is from New Hampshire. A social worker who specializes in geriatrics and has worked with Alzheimer’s patients, Katie Vautrain said she plans to volunteer at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home soon after moving to Western Massachusetts.
The couple recently visited Western Massachusetts and attended the Springfield July Fourth fireworks with Swain and his wife Diane F. Swain.
Swain said he accomplished a lot at Westover and he and his wife enjoyed living in the area.
Officials at the base completed a long-term plan for Westover and many capital improvement projects were completed during his three years, including repaving runways and renovating hangars.
“We did all the work to take a 1940s base to meet today’s needs,” Swain said.
He said he also focused on changing the culture of the base to one of building teamwork and accountability.
Swain said when he first arrived he kept hearing complaints from different units about others. Then shortly after he took command, there was a bad car accident. His biggest concern was no one stopped immediately to help the driver.
“It is totally different now. People are holding themselves accountable,” he said.
Swain also talked about the contributions the base has made to the war in Iraq and the surge of force in Afghanistan about two years ago.
“We know we are fit to fight and ready to deploy,” he said.
