LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
Lt. Col. Patrick M. Shortsleeve assumed command of the 497th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group during a change of command ceremony June 24 at the Bayview Commonwealth Center.
Col. Paul Nelson, 480 ISR Wing commander, officiated the change of command.
As the 497 ISR Group commander, Colonel Shortsleeve will command more than 800 personnel across four squadrons in a Total Force Integration environment, including two active-duty squadrons, one Air National Guard and one Reserve squadron. The group operates the $1 billion AN/GSQ-272 Sentinel weapon system, commonly referred to as the Air Force Distributed Ground System-1, which includes analytical and reporting elements of imagery and signals intelligence for U-2, Predator, Reaper and Global Hawk imagery.
"I cannot think of a better unit to serve," said Colonel Shortsleeve. "This is a well disciplined and professional organization. I promise to focus on building leaders and Airmen and taking care of families."
Colonel Shortsleeve entered the Air Force in 1991 after graduating from Texas State University. He has served as an intelligence officer at all levels of intelligence and has significant experience in combat and contingency operations, including commanding the Air Force's only intelligence squadron in Iraq. He most recently served as a National Defense Fellow assigned to the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C.
Col. Mark Cooter, the group's outgoing commander, will become the chief of force management at Headquarters Air Combat Command A2 Directorate of Intelligence.