PEASE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.H. -- Chief Master Sgt. John Symington, the outgoing N.H. Air National Guard state command chief, relinquished his duties to Chief Master Sgt. Pranav Zaveri, the 13th state command chief in N.H., during a change of authority ceremony at Pease Air National Guard Base, New Hampshire April 2, 2022.
Brig. Gen. Jed French, commander of the NHANG, welcomed Zaveri and commended Symington for his exemplary leadership.
“Chief, you have been a consummate leader for our Air National Guard,” he said. “Your legacy is one in which your peers have described you as a leader, who has been wholly dedicated to taking care of our most precious resource, our Airmen.”
Symington served 41 years for the U.S. Air Force as a total force Airman.
“It has been an honor to serve who I consider the best Airmen of the best wing, of the best Air Force in the world,” he said. “I am incredibly proud of all that you have done and will continue to do for our state and our country.”
Symington expressed his confidence in Zaveri and encouraged the Airmen of the 157th to welcome Zaveri to his new position.
“I am extremely excited for Chief Z,” he said. “I have seen how well he understands the Airmen of this wing and how he is here to serve you all.”
Zaveri has 27 years of military service, 23 of them at Pease in the Air Traffic Control Squadron. He spent the last two years as the senior enlisted leader of the 157th Operations Group.
In his address to the wing, Zaveri highlighted the importance of the decisions Guardsmen make every day.
“In recent years we have seen just how fragile life can be,” he said. “The decisions we make today are the actions that will determine our future.”
Zaveri applauded the local state activations, national response efforts and global relief missions Airmen of the 157th continue to support and emphasized the results of their unfailing dedication to the mission.
“You are our future,” he said looking directly at each group in the formation. “I am proud to be your command chief and I am here to serve you.”