Ellsworth Air Force Base Fires Second Commander in Just 2 Months

Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota has fired another commander from his position, after removing another top officer from his role just last month.

Lt. Col. Carsten Stahr, commander of the 28th Force Support Squadron, was relieved from duty last week, a brief news release from the base said. Col. Derek Oakley, the 28th Bomb Wing commander at Ellsworth, said it was "due to loss of trust and confidence" in Stahr's leadership abilities related to the squadron.

A bio for Stahr was not publicly available. A Department of Defense photo caption detailed that he took over during a change of command ceremony on June 6, 2023. His removal from command comes after an Aug. 2 news release announced that Oakley had removed Col. Mark Kimball, the 28th Operations Group commander.

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Kimball's removal was related, in part, to a scathing Accident Investigation Board report probing the cause of a Jan. 4 crash of a B-1B Lancer bomber at Ellsworth. That report took aim at "an unhealthy organizational culture that permitted degradation of airmanship skills."

Lt. Col. John Severns, a spokesperson for Air Force Global Strike Command, told Military.com on Thursday that Stahr's removal was not related to the B-1B bomber accident investigation's findings. No other details for his removal were provided.

Service branches don't typically provide specific reasons for a commander's firing, often pointing to the federal Privacy Act as justification for not explaining the rationale. Officials, such as in Stahr's case, typically refer to the phrase "loss of trust and confidence" as the sole reason.

The 28th Force Support Squadron aims to provide service members and their families various education, training and other recreational opportunities, as well as other support services, during their time stationed at Ellsworth.

Stahr did not respond to a voicemail or text message left at a phone number associated with him.

The leadership changes at Ellsworth, while not directly related to Stahr's case, come as the base struggles with fallout from the crash report.

A B-1B Lancer, valued at $450 million, was on a training exercise Jan. 4 with four crew members aboard. The bomber crashed short of the runway and skidded more than 5,000 feet down the tarmac before it caught fire. All four crew members safely ejected, but some received serious injuries.

Some relatives of the crew hammered back at assertions in the subsequent Accident Investigation Board findings, Military.com reported, and some former Ellsworth pilots said the assertions about the crew and training caused "real damage to morale."

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