AURORA | The Colorado Air National Guard’s 140th Wing in Aurora will change commanders this week, with Col. Christopher “KojaCk” Melka set to succeed Col. Benjamin “Scrappy” Couchman.

The change-of-command ceremony is slated for Saturday at Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora.

Brig. Gen. D. Micah “Zeus” Fesler, assistant adjutant general and commander of the Colorado Air National Guard, will preside over the ceremonial transfer.

In a press release, Fesler described Melka as a modern warfighter and leader with experience commanding at the squadron and group levels and serving as interim deputy wing commander in Colorado.

“He is a proven leader who leads from the front,” Fesler said in a statement. “The 140th Wing is in outstanding hands.”

Couchman took command of the wing in November 2024. During his tenure, he led more than 1,700 personnel supporting an F-16C+ fighter mission, a mobile ground-system missile warning mission before its decommissioning and a civil engineering mission, according to base officials.

Buckley Space Force Base officials said earlier this year that the economic impact of the Aurora base is linked to a sizable $2.4 billion in area economic activity, although it’s about $200 million less than in 2025.

Controversy over Colorado losing the distinction of Space Command headquarters in Colorado Springs dominated state military news since President Trump moved command to Huntsville, Alabama this year. 

Colorado has the second-largest aerospace sector in the country and the most aerospace workers per capita, with about 2,000 companies employing more than 55,000 people and supporting another 184,000 jobs indirectly.

Couchman worked to maintain Colorado’s partnerships with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Republic of Slovenia and welcomed Switzerland as the state’s newest partner last year.

The wing conducted multiple deployments of Air National Guard forces during his tenure.

In 2025, Couchman also served as wing commander of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing at Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.

“Colonel Couchman has led the 140th Wing, at home and abroad, with the utmost professionalism and expertise following decades of a decorated and extremely robust career,” Fesler said.

Melka joined the Colorado Air National Guard in 2007. After attending the U.S. Air Force Weapons School in 2010, he served as an instructor pilot for the 16th Weapons Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, according to base details. He returned to Colorado in 2016 and served with the 120th Fighter Squadron as commander and director of operations. Before becoming commander of the 140th Operations Group, he served as deputy commander of the 140th Maintenance Group at Buckley.

He is a command pilot with more than 3,400 hours in the F-16C Fighting Falcon and more than 460 combat hours in Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa, as well as during Operations Iraqi Freedom, Freedom Sentinel and Resolute Support, according to base officials.

The 140th Wing consists of five groups, 12 squadrons and two units, one in Aurora and one in Greeley. It includes about 1,700 personnel who provide fighter aircraft and support forces capable of global deployment.

Last year, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis appointed Maj. Gen. Robert Davis to lead Colorado’s National Guard as the state’s adjutant general, also at Buckley. Davis was previously deputy director of the U.S. Army National Guard. His appointment followed Maj. Gen. Laura Clellan’s retirement last October after serving as adjutant general since 2020. 

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