New commander takes charge of 42nd Air Base Wing at Maxwell Air Force Base
Col. Michael Gallucci takes command of the 42nd Air Base Wing at Maxwell Air Force Base, Friday, June 5, 2026 – Photo from WAKA Action 8 News
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (WAKA) – Col. Michael Gallucci is now the commander of the 42nd Air Base Wing at Maxwell Air Force Base.
A change of command ceremony was held this morning as Gallucci was installed with Col. Shamekia Toliver relinquishing command. She had been at the helm of the 42nd Air Base Wing since 2024.
Col. Gallucci will lead all base operating infrastructure and service support for 42,000 active duty reserve civilian and contract personnel students and family at Maxwell Air Force Base and Gunter Annex. In addition, he will direct support of the 908th Flying Training Wing, Air Force material command units, the defense information system agency and more than 40 other mission partners.
Col. Michael Gallucci – Photo from U.S. Air Force
As Maxwell’s installation commander, he will work with local officials across a three-county, 12-city region with an annual military economic impact of $2.2 billion.
Col. Gallucci enlisted in the Air Force in 1994 and served in various roles in the security forces career field. He was selected for Officer Training School and was commissioned in 2002. He is a graduated group commander, three-time squadron commander and has served in a variety of positions at the Headquarters Air Force level. Colonel Gallucci has deployed and commanded in support of operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom and is a graduate of the Air Command and Staff College and served as a National Defense Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
He has served at the Air Force Personnel Center and holds a dual AFSC as a Political Military Affairs Strategist.
Prior to his current position, Col. Gallucci was the Director, Force Protection Policy for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs in the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Policy.
