Ellsworth names next 28th Bomb Wing commander

ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. — Next month, a new commander will lead the world’s largest B-1 bomber combat wing.

Col. Joseph Sheffield has been named as the next commander of the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base. Current commander, Col. David Doss, has been handpicked for a position with the Air Force Global Strike Command at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.

Col. Sheffield previously served at Ellsworth as a squadron and wing weapons officer, director of operations for the 34th Bomb Squadron “Thunderbirds,” commander of the 37th Bomb Squadron “Tigers,” and deputy commander of the 28th Operations Group. He also commanded the 37th B.S. on two Southeast Asian deployments.

Sheffield is a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and a command pilot with more than 3,600 flying hours – 1,125 of those being combat hours. He comes to Ellsworth from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, where he served as commander of the 36th Operations Group.