Tinker gets a new installation commander

The 72nd Air Base Wing, the host organization for Tinker Air Force Base, recently welcomed a new commander. Col. Paul Filcek assumed command of the unit from Col. Kenyon Bell during a ceremony at the Tinker Events Center on June 14.

A former master sergeant, Filcek earned his commission from Officer Training School in 1997 after more than 12 years of enlisted service in five assignments maintaining four types of aircraft.  His total maintenance and programming experience spans six major commands and includes 19 unique aircraft types.  He has commanded the Presidential Logistics Squadron (Air Force One), graduated the DARPA Service Chiefs Program Fellowship, served on both the Air Mobility Command staff and the Air Staff, commanded a maintenance group, and served as Vice Commander of the largest Air Logistics Complex (depot) in the US Air Force. 

While he and his family were not exactly thrilled to be coming to Oklahoma, it didn’t take long for them to grasp what makes Oklahoma City special.

“I came here from Germany, from Ramstein, you know, the Bavarian dream location,” Filcek said. “We traveled to other countries almost weekly and on the weekends we were driving to Luxembourg, we’d drive into Switzerland we’d go into Austria just to explore the countryside in their different countries and it is gorgeous. The family and I spent more than 30 years wanting to get to Germany. To have Oklahoma City as the next assignment was not something we were jumping up and cheering for. It was very great, we’ll go, it's awesome, we're blessed because of the position. And, maybe an hour or two hours into driving into town we liked it. We liked it because of the people."

"The welcome you get as a military member, as a uniform wearer is, I've never seen anything more patriotic than Oklahoma City. And then discover and learn how much there is to see and do and just, just great, it blew us away. So, probably a couple months into my tour we were talking about potential retirement in the area. Because Oklahoma City brings it!"

The base continues to grow and evolve even as Air Force missions grow and evolve. The next “big thing” for the base?

“We are looking here at Tinker at, and that's kind of my responsibility as the installation commander, looking at the depot of the future,” he added. “With that, we have the layers of the KC-46. We have layered in already where the B-21 is best, Plan A, where it's best Plan B. We're looking at some very creative financing options to try to robust what we offer on the south side of the base, given that the work population in 9001, 9201, the two giant old GM facilities and the KC-46 campus are better serviced, so we have a lot going on. But it's big. I'd like to think everybody will look back on 2019, 20, 21 and 22 as a new golden era of depot operations at Tinker Air Force Base.”

How does Filcek feel about the relationship with Tinker and the Greater Oklahoma City community?

“I've never been anywhere where the community was so supportive of their installations, nothing comes close,” he said. “It's how the businesses treat the military members at that, what I call the point of execution that's spectacular. But then, the legislative support is off the charts. The community support, the chambers of commerce support, everything is geared towards helping other members and it's just noticeable. It's unlike any place I've seen.”

And what does the base need from OKC?

“What a lot of people don't understand is the amount of engineers that we have employed a Tinker Air Force Base. All of the colleges and the universities in the entire state of Oklahoma can't graduate enough just to service Tinker Air Force Base, if we could get them all,” Filcek said.  “So, the community needs to know the market is there. The market will keep going up and what would be great is if we get in front of that, eventually, in Oklahoma with an aerospace industry and an aerospace education. Which I think the state is really leaning towards hard. I think it will be unstoppable.”

 Unstoppable is a term that perfectly describes Oklahoma City and Tinker Air Force Base.