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Launch Group to hold change of command ceremony
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The former commander of Cadet Group-02 at the U.S. Air Force Academy will take over as the 30th Launch Group commander at a ceremony slated for 9 a.m. July 1 at the Pacific Coast Club here.
Col. Lavanson Coffey III will replace Col. Carl Frushon, who will take the position of vice commander of the Global Positioning Systems Wing at Los Angeles AFB, Calif.
Colonel Coffey's past assignments include a tour as the commander of the 1st Space Launch Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., as well as a tour as branch chief of Titan Launch Programs and deputy director of the Vandenberg Launch Systems Division here.
Colonel Coffey has a bachelor's degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy; a master's degree California State University-Northridge, and two more master's degrees from Air University at Maxwell AFB, Ala.
His awards include a Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, an Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, a Joint Service Achievement Medal, an Air Force Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters and a National Defense Service Medal with one device.