Hancox assumes command of 131st Mission Support Group Published Jan. 25, 2011 By SSgt Meiko Schill 131BW/PA Lambert ANGB -- In a change of command ceremony officiated by Colonel Gregory Champagne, 131st Bomb Wing Commander, Colonel Kathleen Hancox assumed command of the Mission Support Group from Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Jones at Lambert ANGB Saint Louis, January 8. Colonel Hancox is excited about her new position and states she was asked to fill it by, "the best three Air Generals the Missouri Air Guard has ever seen." The Mission Support Group is comprised of 379 Guard members who are stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base and Lambert Field. When asked what direction she would like to lead the Mission Support Group to Hancox, replied, "To have 100% of 131 MSG integrated into 100% of the 509th Bomb Wing." Commenting on the 131st Bomb Team's recent win of the Fairchild Trophy at the Global Strike Challenge, Hancox said it is "indicative of the synergy that was created by Total Force Integration." Hancox began her career in the Air National Guard in 1982 when she began her training at the Aircraft Maintenance Officer Course at Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois. She served with the 120th Fighter Wing in Great Falls, Montana, 144th Operations Group in Fresno, California, and held a variety of leadership billets at the 131st Fighter Wing in Saint Louis. Prior to taking her new position as Mission Support Group Commander, Colonel Hancox served as Director of Staff at Missouri National Guard State Headquarters in Jefferson City, Missouri. When asked if she notices a change in the type of individuals who join the Air National Guard now, she said "new enlistees are focused on college, and more of them are from different areas of the state." Hancox says in the future she would like to see the Missouri Air National Guard work more with the Army National Guard in a Joint Alliance.