HILL AIR FORCE BASE — A legacy of change and improvement will be left behind when Maj. Gen. Scott Bergren retires and hands over the command of the Ogden Air Logistics Center today.
Bergren came to Hill from Air Force Headquarters in Washington, D.C., in January 2000, making him the longest-serving commander in the base's history, said spokesman Shawn Mecham.
"He and his wife have really been the first parents of the base," Mecham said. "That's going to be the hardest thing for him to give up."
He also takes pride in his rapport with northern Utah.
"The relationship with the community is very important for us," Bergren said. "We're doing a lot of work with the applied technology college and the State Board of Regents to develop programs that will bring more people into the workforce."
That's one of the many things Bergren will be remembered for, Mecham said. Others include the current construction of a 110,000-square-foot maintenance hangar, big enough to fit six C-130 cargo planes and nearly doubling Hill's capabilities for maintaining the aircraft. Such moves by Bergren may ensure the base's future as more military facility closures are expected next year.
Bergren has also teamed with private companies like BF Goodrich, who do the same aircraft work, but for foreign militaries, to improve maintenance procedures.
"They've taken processes that used to take days and whittled it down to hours," Bergren said. "What that allows us to do is bring in more workload."
At 9 a.m. today Bergren will relinquish his command to Maj. Gen. Kevin Sullivan, who previously served as director of logistics readiness in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Installations and Logistics at Air Force Headquarters.
Bergren is unsure what he'll do or where he'll be in retirement, but he wants to be close to family on the East Coast.
"I will come back to Utah every opportunity I get," he said. "We have good friends and have had good times here."
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