NY Air Guard gets new commander this afternoon, June 3 at NY National Guard Headquarters in Latham

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Brigadier General Michael Bank

LATHAM, NY (06/03/2024) (readMedia)-- New York Air National Guard Brigadier General Michael Bank, a Darian Center resident, will take command of the 5,800- member New York Air National Guard during a ceremony at New York National Guard headquarters in Latham, this afternoon, June 3.

Bank will replace Major General Denise Donnell, a Clifton Park resident, who is retiring after 31-years in the Navy and the Air National Guard.

Members of the press are invited to cover the change of command ceremony.

WHO: Brig. Gen. Michael Bank, the incoming commander of the New York Air National Guard; Major General Denise Donnell; the outgoing commander of the New York Air National Guard; and Major General Ray Shields, the adjutant general of New York.

WHAT: A change of command ceremony during which Shields will transfer the guidon of the New York Air National Guard from Donnell to Bank. This action signifies the change in authority and responsibility for the New York Air National Guard from the outgoing to the incoming commander.

WHEN: 1 p.m., Monday June 3

WHERE: New York National Guard headquarters, 330 Old Niskayuna Road, Latham, NY 12110

Coverage Opportunities:

Reporters can interview the incoming and outgoing commanders and capture still and video images of the ceremony.

Members of the press must contact the Division of Military and Naval Affairs Public Affairs Office for Access to this secure military facility.

BACKGROUND:

Major General Michael Bank

Brig General Michael W. Bank currently serves as assistant adjutant general of the New York Air National Guard, a part-time traditional Guard member position.

In addition, he serves as the Air National Guard Assistant to the commander of the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey. In this role he provides support to the commander, who is responsible for 14,000 active and Air Guard Airmen who conduct world-wide missions.

From 2015 to 2020 he served as the commander of the 106th Rescue Wing, based at F.S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base in Westhampton Beach on Long Island. Prior to that assignment he was the vice commander of the 107th Attack Wing which is based at Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station in Niagara Falls, New York.

From June to August 2011, he commanded what was then the 136th Airlift Squadron of the 107th Airlift Wing, based at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

Bank was commissioned through Air Force ROTC in 1988 and served in the Active Air Force at the 644the Bomb Squadron at K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base from 1990 to 1994 as a navigator in the B-52 H bomber.

He joined what was then the New York Air National Guard's 107th Air Refueling Wing in 1994 and has served in a variety of positions to include Chief of Wing Plans, Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Commander, and 136 Air Refueling Squadron Commander.

He mobilized in support of operations during the Persian Gulf War and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bank is a former senior navigator in the B-52H and KC-135R with over 1,800 total flight hours and is currently a command pilot with over 5,000 total flight hours in the C-130 H Hercules, the HC-130J Combat King II, the KC-135R refueling aircraft and the T-1and T-37 flight trainers.

Bank holds a Bachelor of Computer and Information Systems from Florida State University and is a graduate of the Air Command Staff College, the Air War College, the Joint and Combined Warfighting School, and the National Security Studies Management Course at Syracuse University.

His awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Force Air Medal, and the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor Device, the Combat Readiness Medal, the Southwest Asia Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, and the NATO medal.

Major General Denise Donnell

Major General Denise Donnell, who served in the United States Navy from 1993 to 2002, is a command pilot with over 4,400 hours of flying time, including 280 hours in combat.

She has flown the Navy's P-3 Orion anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft, and the Air Force's C-5A Galaxy, LC-130 Hercules "Skibird" and the C-17 Globemaster III and has commanded at the squadron, group, and wing levels.

As a naval aviator, Donnell served as an evaluator pilot, mission commander, quality assurance officer assigned to Patrol Squadron 46, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington.

Donnell joined the 105th Airlift Wing at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York in 2002 and qualified to fly the C-5A Galaxy, the largest aircraft flown in the United States Air Force.

In 2013, she was assigned to the 109th Airlift Wing at Stratton Air National Guard Base in Scotia, New York, as the commander of the 109th Maintenance Group from 2013 to 2016. During that period, she qualified on the unique ski-equipped LC-130 Hercules aircraft flown by the 109th, which are the largest ski-equipped planes in the world.

Donnell served as the commander of the 13th Air Expeditionary Group at the U.S. National Science Foundation research base at McMurdo Station Antarctica during the 2014 - 2015 Antarctic support season.

In 2017 she assumed command of the 105th Airlift Wing and served in that position until March 2022.

Donnell is a graduate of Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Foreign Service. She is also a graduate of the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, and a Distinguished Graduate with a Master of Science degree in Government Information Leadership from the National Defense University.

She is also a graduate of the Joint and Combined Warfighting School and the Air Command and Staff College, as well as the National Security Management Course at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.

Her awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal, the Aerial Achievement Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, the Combat Readiness Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal.

She and her husband, Greg Szczesny, live in Clifton Park. They have a daughter and son.

New York Air National Guard

With a strength of over 5,800 Airmen, the New York Air National Guard is the largest state Air National Guard organization in the country.

The New York Air National Guard's five wings operate 45 aircraft, ranging from the MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft to the C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlifter. The New York Air National Guard also includes the Eastern Air Defense Sector, which is responsible for air defense east of the Mississippi, along with a headquarters element at New York National Guard Headquarters in Latham.

The New York Air National Guard has a history stretching back prior to World War I when the 1st Aero Company was organized by the New York National Guard in July 1916 in Mineola.

The New York Air National Guard's major components are:

• The 105th Airlift Wing based at Stewart Air National Guard base in Newburgh.

• The 106th Rescue Wing based at F.S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base in Westhampton Beach.

• The 107th Attack Wing based at Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station.

• The 109th Airlift Wing based at Stratton Air National Guard Base in Scotia.

• The 174th Attack Wing at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base.

• The Eastern Air Defense Sector.