O’FALLON, ILL., March 6, 2012 … General WilIiam Fraser, III, and his wife Bev, were honored March 2^nd at a cocktail reception welcoming them to the St. Louis region and celebrating his recent appointment as Commander of the United States Transportation Command at Scott Air Force Base. The reception was hosted by the Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois, U.S. Congressman Jerry Costello, Civic Progress, The Regional Business Council, St. Louis RCGA and the Belle Scott Committee.  The event was held at the Missouri Athletic Club in Downtown St. Louis, where more than 100 well-wishers gathered to greet the General and his wife.

General Fraser brings to this vital command nearly four decades of extensive wartime, contingency and humanitarian relief operational experience. He came to Scott from Langley Air Force Base, Va., where he served as commander of the Air Combat Command, and also as Air Component Commander for the U.S. Joint Forces Command, leading over 130,000 Total Force Airmen. In addition to his recent command posts, and the many command and staff positions he has held since becoming a distinguished graduate of Texas A&M’s ROTC program, his experience also includes commanding an operations group and two bomb wings. He has accumulated more than 4,200 flying hours in a variety of aircrafts and has served as a T-37, B-52, B-1 and B-2 instructor pilot and evaluator.  He has been personally recognized with numerous major awards and decorations over the course of his prestigious career.

“We are delighted that General Fraser and his wife have now landed at Scott Air Force Base, and we know he’ll be a strong asset to the base and to our region at large,” commented Rich Conner, president of the Leadership Council.

In his brief remarks to the crowd in attendance, Gen. Fraser noted how impressed he is with the local community and with the tremendous support that members of the community provide. “When our young men and women from Scott Air Force Base are deployed overseas, they know their families are going to be taken care of,” stated Gen. Fraser.

The Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois is a member-based, economic development corporation representing Madison and St. Clair counties. The Council works to attract/retain jobs and stimulate capital investment through its coalition of leaders in business, industry, labor, education and government. These effective partnerships serve as a driving force behind successful economic development efforts throughout the Metro East region.

# # #

For more information, contact:

Julie Hauser, The Hauser Group, 314.436.9090

Tags: events, Metro East, Scott Air Force Base, USTRANSCOM

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 6th, 2012 at 3:54 pm and is filed under Press Releases. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.