Col. Patty Wilbanks retired from the Alaska Air National

Col. Patty Wilbanks retired from the Alaska Air National Guard at a ceremony on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, September 24. Wilbanks entered the Air Force and was commissioned as a second lieutenant through the Reserve Officer Training Corps in June of 1989. Her first assignment, in August of that year, was with the 351st Strategic Missile Wing, Logistics Plans Flight, out of Whitman Air Force Base, Missouri. Her next assignment brought her to Alaska, where she was stationed at JBER in 1991. In 1998, Wilbanks left active duty and joined the Alaska Air National Guard, where she was assigned to the 176th Maintenance Squadron. In 2002, Wilbanks assumed command of the 176th Maintenance Squadron, followed by taking command of the 176th Maintenance Group in 2007. In 2011, she took command of the 176th Mission Support Group, from which she retired. Both former and current co-workers, as well as family and friends, paid tribute to Wilbanks at the ceremony, honoring her 27 years of dedicated service to her state and nation. (U.S. Air National Guard photos by Staff Sgt. Edward Eagerton/released)