820th legend returns home to bid farewell

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jamal Sutter
  • 23d Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga --  After 26 years of service, one of the founding members of the 820th Security Forces Group gave his final goodbye during his retirement ceremony here May 29.

U.S. Air Force Col. Donald Derry was the first 820th SFG operations officer when it first stood up at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, in March 1997 and later became the first 822nd Security Forces Squadron commander in June 2000.

Derry, who has been the Pacific Air Forces Security Forces Division chief since July 2011, traveled from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, to bid his farewell among some familiar faces.

"Thanks for letting me have this ceremony in my home away from home with my 820th brothers and sisters," he said. "You can retire anyplace in the world; but I wanted to do it here, because you guys are my family, and you guys rock."

Derry served as the commander of the 820th SFG, now known as the 820th Base Defense Group, at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., from April 2008 to June 2010.

Presiding over the ceremony was Brig. Gen. Richard Coleman, who retired as the security forces director at the Pentagon and the U.S. Air Force Security Forces Center commander at Lackland. During his address, Coleman spoke on Derry's career achievements and told stories of the 820th SFG's creation and how Derry was selected to be part of it.

Current 820th BDG Commander Col. Randall Richert, also had some words to say about Derry and how he impacted his career.

"He's one of the guys who created the 820th (BDG)," Richert said. "He was one of my mentors back in the day, so he'll be mentioned in my retirement for sure. It's neat that he got to come back here and do this. He's a legend in our career field and a legend in the Air Force."

While giving his retirement speech, Derry addressed the young security forces defenders in attendance and passed the torch to them. He also mentioned some of the highlights throughout his career but said being the top cop in Air Forces Central Command and PACAF was never his intent.

"Achieving rank was never my goal," he said. "My goal was to lead men and women defending our freedom. I've attempted to do this by taking the fight to the enemy and protecting our most precious resource−our people. I hope I've made a difference in the people's lives that I've served with."