As one Colonel ends his service at the Cannon Air Force Base, another begins his.

Today, Colonel Ben Maitre relinquished his command of the 27th Special Operations Wing.

We take a look at the impact he’s had and the future of leadership at the base.

It’s the end of an era.

 After two years of being the Commander at the Cannon Air Force Base, Colonel Ben Maitre will no longer call New Mexico home.

He says the ending of this part of his career is bittersweet.

“So I’m definitely looking forward to putting the family back in one place, staying together. It’s been a sacrifice there on the part of my wife and our children for me to be able to do not just what I love but also to serve the airmen of this base and the air force,” said Colonel Ben Maitre, Air Force. 

With this exchange, Colonel Maitre transfers power to his successor Colonel Stewart Hammons. 

It’s a formal ceremony steeped in rich military tradition that happens every two years. 

“So what happened today was what we called a wing change of command ceremony. That ceremony has to do with passing the colors. The colors represent the command. Represent the authority of the wing passing those colors from one commander to the next commander,” said Eric Pilgrim, Cannon Air Force Base Spokesman. 

In his years of service, Colonel Maitre’s leadership has had left an impression on those on the base.

“So working with Colonel Maitre he definitely has a very strong mission focus and that is always been one of his main points. It’s to get after the mission every single day. So one of the common phrases you hear in afstoc is we are delivering superior air power to anywhere in the world. Any time, any place, anywhere. And that’s definitely what he has been after,” said Second Lieutenant Renee Douglas, Public Affairs Officer.

Colonel Maitre will continue his career serving at the Pentagon. But he doesn’t know what capacity his new job will entail.

The new Commander, Colonel Hammons comes from Florida, where he served as Commander of First Special Operations Group, Air Force Special Operations Command.