14th Flying Training Wing Change of Command Published June 18, 2024 By Adam Prince 14th Flying Training Wing COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Colonel Justin Grieve, 14th Flying Training Wing commander, transferred command of the 14 FTW to Colonel James Blech, former 47th Operations Group commander, Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, on June 17, 2024, at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. Grieve, who led Columbus Air Force Base from July 2022 to June 2024, completed his final T-38 Talon flight in the United States Air Force on June 14, 2024. Under Grieve’s leadership, the 14 FTW transformed undergraduate pilot training, launched the Air Mobility Fundamentals, a pilot training program using mid-tier simulator devices that replicate the T-1A Jayhawk, and pioneered the creation and implementation of the new Fighter Bomber Fundamentals student pilot training program at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. His mission focus of pilot production produced back-to-back record setting years; outpacing more than three decades of execution by graduating an average of 10% more sorties and 13% more flight hours. CAFB graduated more student pilots within the Air Education and Training Command in 2022 than the last 36 years of Air Force pilot training at other pilot training bases. Grieve’s guidance proved critical in preparing for the arrival of the T-7A Red Hawk; the divestment of the T-1A Jayhawk; historic completion of the A-29 Super Tucano aviation advisor mission; and a transition to the Defense Health Agency’s $5.5 billion digital healthcare record system known as MHS GENESIS. Other notable accomplishments include the completion of the Combat Arms Training and Maintenance range, the Comprehensive Readiness for Aircrew Flying Training facility, the Department of Defense STARBASE educational program, and strengthened community bonds through the Base Community Council. Grieve received his commission through the United States Air Force Academy in 2000. He attended Joint Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance AFB, Oklahoma, earning his wings in 2001. Following pilot training, Grieve was assigned to the 33rd Flying Training Squadron, Vance AFB, Oklahoma, as a T-37 instructor pilot. Grieve was selected to join the 509th Bomb Wing and the B-2 program at Whiteman AFB, Missouri, in 2005. He served in several squadrons as a B-2 instructor pilot and T-38 pilot. In 2012, Grieve served as Chief of Bomber Aircraft and Nuclear Programs for the Secretary of the Air Force at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. He was selected to work with the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University as an Air Force Foreign Policy Fellow for the 2013-2014 academic year. Grieve commanded the 509th Operations Group, Whiteman AFB, Missouri, after attending National War College at Ft. McNair in Washington, D.C. Prior to his current role, Grieve served as the Chief of Nuclear Mission Planning Division, Plans and Policy Directorate, United States Strategic Command, Offutt AFB, Nebraska. Grieve is a command pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours in the B-2, T-37, and T-38. Grieve concludes his final assignment after 24 years of distinguished service in the Air Force. He and his family are returning to their family home in Texas, where he plans to continue flying airplanes.