82 TRW to change hands; Fantini headed to Afghanistan Published May 10, 2013 By Dan Hawkins 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- The 82nd Training Wing commander here has been selected to become commander of the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, according to a Pentagon news release May 9. Brig. Gen. Michael A. Fantini, who took command of the 82nd TRW in April, 2012, will also be the installation commander for U.S. Forces-Afghanistan at Kandahar, which is part of U.S. Central Command. The 451st AEW provides airpower presence in the Afghanistan area of operations in missions that include tactical airlift, close air support, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), command and control, airborne datalink, combat search and rescue, casualty evacuation and aeromedical evacuation capabilities. This will be Fantini's first assignment in Afghanistan; he was the commander of the 332nd Expeditionary Operations Group at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, from June, 2008 until June, 2009. Fantini is slated to relinquish command here in September to Brig. Gen. Scott A. Kindsvater, who is currently stationed in Islamabad, Pakistan, as the deputy chief, support/security assistance, Office of Defense Representative-Pakistan, U.S. Central Command. In his official Air Force biography, Kindsvater is listed as a 1989 Air Force Academy graduate and F-15E Strike Eagle command pilot with more than 3,600 hours of flight time, to include more than 600 combat hours over Iraq and Afghanistan. In his current position, Kindsvater is responsible for one of the largest and most strategically important capacity building programs in the world. The general also oversees over $7 billion in security assistance training and programs and manages technical and operational assistance to Pakistan's military in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Combined Joint Task Forces for anti-piracy and maritime security operations. (Information for this article obtained from the Air Force biographies website and the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing website)