People will still stand when he enters a room and call him "sir," but they won't have to salute the new second-in-command of the Ogden Air Logistics Center.
For the first time in its history, the center has an executive director who is a civilian. Thomas L. Miner will replace Brig. Gen. Carlos Perez, who is the last military member to hold the No. 2 post.Air Force commanders in Ohio decided to change the position from full-time military to civilian to give it more stability. All five air logistics centers in the Air Force will get new civilian executive directors.
Miner's duties will be exactly those of his predecessor; he just won't wear a uniform or be subject to the military legal system.
The center is the largest employer on base, paying some 16,000 workers more than $600 million a year. Miner says defense downsizing will be one of its biggest challenges.
"We've got to remain competitive. I think Ogden has demonstrated in the past that it is very progressive and efficient . . . if we can continue in that way, then we'll be prepared for BRAC '95 (base closure hearings in 1995)," he said.
Miner, 49, has been in Utah before. He served as chief of the Missile and Aircraft Systems Division at Ogden from 1987 to 1989. And his daughter lives in Layton.
Since leaving, he has served as deputy director of maintenance for the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center. In 1991, he became Tinker Air Force Base's director of commodities management.
He now is deputy director of financial management for headquarters at the Air Force Material Command in Dayton, Ohio. Work in that position has made him aware of Hill's service record.
"The reputation of Ogden, as far as command is concerned, is that they are leaders in technology. And the support the base and its workers receive from the local community is unmatched in military circles," he said.
Miner will assume his position in March and serve directly under air logistics center commander Maj. Gen. Lester L. Lyles.