KINGSLEY FIELD, Ore -- The 173rd Fighter Wing Medical Group rings in the New Year with a new commander. Lt. Col. Lisa McGuire assumed the reigns of command from Col. Edwin Tuhy during a change of command ceremony, January 8, 2023.
McGuire spent 10 years in the active-duty Air Force before joining the New Mexico Air National Guard five years ago. She then became part of Team Kingsley in 2021, serving most recently as chief of aerospace medicine.
She defined her priority to take care of her Airmen saying, “I look forward to strengthening new relationships, and being a catalyst for accomplishment, great and small, in each of my Airmen. I am so proud and grateful to have the opportunity to lead a group of such talented and passionate people.”
The change of command ceremony is based on the traditional passing of the guidon. As the outgoing commander relinquishes the guidon it is then passed to the incoming commander, the responsibility and authority are both symbolically and formally transferred to the new commander.
Tuhy steps down from command of the group following more than five years of service in the position and immediately following the ceremony he celebrated his retirement from the service after more than 22 years.
Col. Lee Bouma, 173rd Fighter Wing Commander, commended Tuhy for his leadership of the Medical Group, mentioning in particular his navigation of the unchartered waters, high demands and uncertainty of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
McGuire steps into the lead role bringing her experience in internal medicine and endocrinology as well as a tour in Afghanistan where she spent seven months assigned to the intensive care unit at Bagram Air Base.
She hails from Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she is Professor of Internal Medicine and Endocrinology at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and the New Mexico Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center, when she is not in uniform.
Of the road ahead, she says, “I look forward to facing the new challenges…together as a team and as a family.”