Commander at Eglin Air Force Base Fired from Job Days Before He Was Set to Leave Post

A group commander at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida was fired from his job last week, just days before he was set to formally leave his position.

Col. Jeremiah Hammill, the former commander of the 96th Test Wing's Civil Engineer Group at Eglin, was set to pass off his command July 18 but was fired from his role on July 15 "due to a loss in confidence in his ability to lead," according to an Air Force Material Command spokesperson.

"Information came to the commander's attention that caused him to lose confidence in Col. Hammill's ability to lead and raised concerns about good order and discipline within [the 96th Civil Engineer Group]," the spokesperson said. "At this time, we are not going to comment further on the circumstances leading to this decision."

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Col. Michelle Sterling, formerly the commander of the 324th Training Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, was slated to take over for Hammill.

Hammill had led the 96th Civil Engineer Group since 2022. His prior assignments included stints as the director of staff at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio and as the commander of the 611th Civil Engineer Squadron at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska.

It's a rarity for the service branches to disclose the specific reasons why a commander is removed from their role, and officials often cite the federal Privacy Act, which concerns military records, as a justification for the lack of transparency. Officials often cite a "loss in trust and confidence" as a catch-all term to explain a leadership change or removal.

When asked whether Hammill is facing any pending military legal action, the spokesperson stated that "it would be inappropriate to speculate" on the matter, adding that "in accordance with Air Force regulations, relief of command may be used as a basis to support subsequent collateral adverse administrative action in some situations."

The spokesperson said that Hammill is still in uniform and will be performing duties as assigned with the 96th Test Wing; the 96th Civil Engineer Group is a subordinate unit to the wing. Hammill could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon at phone numbers listed for him in public records.

The 96th Civil Engineer Group that Hammill led "operates, maintains, and protects the physical plant, infrastructure, facilities, systems, housing, environment, and 11.6 million square feet of physical plant and over 3,200 facilities," according to the 96th Test Wing's website.

Hammill's dismissal marks the second Florida-based Air Force commander to be removed from their leadership role this summer.

Last month, the then-commander of the 19th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field was removed from his job after police arrested him on charges related to domestic violence.

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