452nd Contingency Response Squadron receives new commander Published Nov. 2, 2018 By 1st Lt. Russell S. McMillan 452 AMW Public Affairs March Air Reserve Base, Calif. -- The 452nd Contingency Response Squadron held an Assumption of Command ceremony in building 2321 here on Saturday, Oct. 27. During the ceremony Lt. Col. Frederick Kuehn, outgoing commander of the 452nd CRS, March Air Reserve Base, spoke highly of and thanked the unit as he transitioned command to Lt. Col. Ravi Chandra, who accepted as the new commander. The presiding officer of the ceremony, Col. Melissa Coburn, commander of the 452nd Operations Group, March ARB, passed the guidon to Chandra, signifying the official transition and noted the excellence of the squadron. “This is a small but mighty squadron,” said Coburn, alluding to how the 38-person squadron is still able to accomplish providing expeditionary mission support despite its size. “They are the first line of response from March [ARB] to any humanitarian or natural disaster relief; it’s a pretty daunting task.” Coburn also highlighted Chandra’s breadth of experience, including his most recent assignment with Headquarters Fourth Air Force. “I looked over Ravi’s resume…he not only served on a numbered AF staff, but was chief of air operations in Libya and has a slew of joint courses he’s completed,” said Coburn. “You have a wealth of experience that you will bring to the table, and your maturity and expertise is going to be able to lead the [452 CRS] to the next level.” Chandra thanked senior leadership, his wife of over 25 years, and family for attending. Additionally, Chandra thanked Kuehn for passing on a motivated team of Airmen and laying the foundation for future positive impact. “He’s really set me up in a position to succeed,” said Chandra. “I’m really looking forward to all of the missions that we have, and [Kuehn] has really set us up well to interact with our active duty counterparts.” Chandra’s appointment as commander of the 452nd CRS was effective Oct. 1, 2018.