Minneapolis -- Lieutenant Colonel Priscilla Failmezger passes the torch of commanding officer of Marine Wing Support Squadron 471 to Lt. Col. Brent Lilly, July 12.
“It is an honor and a privilege to lead and serve these Marines,” said Lilly. “I am not new to the MWSS community. I fully understand the mission of the Squadron. As an expeditionary force, the Squadron must be ready, relevant, and responsive in order to augment and reinforce the active duty forces.”
Lilly is coming onto this command from the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing Headquarters in New Orleans, LA. Brent believes his previous billet has prepared him for this command.
“I learned about supporting the Marine Air Groups and Squadrons in their mission to support and augment the active duty forces,” said Brent. “I learned leadership from Senior Marine Corps Officers and Senior Enlisted personnel. Working at that level provided me with a big picture of how the Marine Corps operates.”
This will not be Lilly’s first dealings with MWSS-471. As a prior enlisted Marine, his first duty station was at MWSS-471 as a lance corporal.
“I was enlisted and graduated from Marine Corps recruit training at Paris Island, South Carolina. My first unit was MWSS-471 at PFC Lilly, motor transport operator. What a journey it has been to leave as a lance corporal and come back as the commanding officer”.
Brent comes back to this command having heard some things about what MWSS-471 is like now.
“The Squadron has a good reputation for providing aviation ground support. The Squadron has superb leadership from the officers down to the NCOs. I have also heard that the Squadron has a good reputation for planning and executing operations.”
Lt. Col. Priscilla Failmezger left the squadron feeling good about MWSS-471’s future.
“Our Marines and sailors are intelligent, hardworking and mission focused,” said Failmezger. “Lt. Col. Lilly is an outstanding leader and person, and I am relieved to know the squadron is in such capable hands.”