A2 community honors former AIS commander

Published July 13, 2018
By Candy Knight, Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. — Members of Air Mobility Command’s intelligence community recently gathered together to honor Col. James J. Moy, former commander of the 183rd Air Intelligence Squadron, dedicating a conference room in his name.

Moy, an Illinois native and member of the Illinois Air National Guard, died in 2013 after a battle with cancer. He was the commander for 30 intelligence professionals supporting the Air Operations Group mission to provide augmentation to Headquarters 12th Air Force and 612th Air Intelligence Squadron, Davis Monthan AFB, Arizona.

“Colonel Moy’s dedication to the Air Force stood out – even when he was in obvious pain and had difficulty walking, he remained dedicated to this mission and his job and he didn’t let his physical ailments get the best of him,” said Steve Dawidowicz, AMC’s ISR Operations Division chief. Dawidowicz first met Moy in 2005.

Moy loved bringing the best out of people and helping them become better Airmen, Dawidowicz added.

“Colonel Moy enjoyed mentoring people,” he said. “He didn’t mind rolling up his sleeves and getting his hands dirty – even as a full colonel, he worked hard, side-by-side with officers and enlisted personnel.”

It wasn’t until after Moy’s death that Dawidowicz learned how active he was in the community.

“He was looked up to as a local community and church leader and was active in a variety of community events, and in mentoring young adults.”

During the dedication ceremony, Moy’s daughter, Jodi, expressed her family’s gratitude and appreciation for honoring Moy’s commitment to the Air Force ISR mission.

“We are overwhelmed to see such love from his military family,” she said. “With this dedication, we know he will always be remembered for his loving heart and passion for his work. Our dad taught us to be strong, confident, independent people. Through this dedication, we hope people are as inspired by his words and work as we are.”

In 2005, Moy helped established the 618th Air Operation Center’s senior intelligence duty officer position. The SIDO position is responsible for providing intelligence, situational awareness and threat warning to the 618th Air Operations Center.

“Moy helped develop the tactics, techniques and procedures, which firmly established the value and credibility of the SIDO position in support of the global mission,” Dawidowicz said. “One of the primary focuses of our mission here is force protection. I think Moy’s legacy was to exercise his passion to protect the men and women of Air Mobility Command, and to promote mission safety and success via the Threat Working Group.”

As an intelligence officer, Moy also worked for multiple agencies including the Headquarters Europe Command Foreign Disclosure Office, and U.S. Central Command.

During the ceremony, Col. Andrew Torelli, AMC’s director of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance, said he hoped all Airmen are inspired by Moy’s words and selflessness.

“Colonel Moy epitomized what self-sacrifice and dedication to duty should mean to all Airmen,” Torelli said.

Torelli stated the Moy conference room symbolizes AMC’s partnership with the ISR enterprise.

“With our top secret communications suite we can communicate with all geographic commands and national intel community,” he said. “Our time zone clocks also symbolize that the sun never sets in the A2 and that our charge is to provide 24/7 timely, accurate, and relevant intel to mobility air forces around the globe.”

He added the history vignettes featured show the importance of ISR Airmen in supporting numerous world operations.

“These four walls would be hollow without the men and women who come here every day to collaborate, coordinate, and practice the democratic principles of dialogue, discourse, debate, and disagreement in order to provide the right intelligence to the right people at the right time,” Torelli said.

Dawidowicz concluded that the conference room dedication symbolizes one of Moy’s most prominent legacies — his ability to draw a group together, and create a team working toward a common goal and achieving a consensus result.