Woman to take charge of 105th Airlift Wing
NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. » Col. Denise Donnell will take command of the 105th Airlift Wing, the first woman to command a wing of the New York Air National Guard.
Donnell will succeed Col. Howard Wagner during a ceremony here on Sunday, August 6.
Donnell is a Clifton Park resident and has more than 3,800 hours of flying time in seven different types of aircraft. She has been serving as the wing vice commander.
Wagner, who has led the wing since 2016, is retiring after a 34year military career.
A change-of-command ceremony is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Stewart Air National Guard Base.
Donnell served in the U.S. Navy from 1993 until 2002 when she joined the New York Air National Guard. During her years in the Navy she piloted the P-3 Orion antisubmarine and maritime surveillance aircraft. She served as an evaluator pilot, a mission commander, a quality assurance officer and eventually as operational test director for Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
Donnell joined the 105th Airlift Wing in 2002 and learned to fly the C-5 Galaxy transport, which the wing operated until 2010. From 2005 to 2010 she commanded the 105th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.
In 2010 she assumed command of the 105th Maintenance Squadron. She led the unit through a conversion from the C-5 to C-17 aircraft and simultaneously qualified as a C-17 pilot.
In 2013 she was selected to command the 109th Maintenance Group at Stratton Air National Guard Base. The wing flies the LC-130 skiequipped C-130 transport aircraft as well as conventional C-130s. Donnell learned to fly the C-130 while also commanding the maintenance unit.
In 2016 she was reassigned to the 105th Airlift Wing as vice commander to Wagner.
Donnell holds a bachelor of science degree from Georgetown University and is also a graduate of the Air Command and Staff College and the Air War College.
The 105th Airlift Wing operates the C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlift cargo plane from Stewart Air National Guard Base. The wing’s airmen regularly fly missions providing support to U.S. forces worldwide. Wing members also deploy as members of Air Expeditionary Wings into operational areas throughout the world.
As members of the New York Air National Guard, airmen of the 105th Airlift Wing respond to state emergencies when called upon by the governor of New York.
The New York Air National Guard, with almost 6,000 members, is the largest Air National Guard in the country.