Schager takes over Troop G command
COLONIE — Altamont native Maj. Dennis J. Schager was appointed the 38th troop commander of State Police Troop G late last month, coming to the job from New York State Intelligence Center at Division Headquarters.
Troop G has 24 stations, covering Albany, Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Washington and Warren counties. Schager replaces Maj. Richard J. O’Brien, who was promoted to staff inspector-employee relations-human resources.
Schager entered the New York State Police Academy in 1998, and upon graduation was assigned to Troop C in Sidney, and later to Troop G in Cobleskill. In 2006, he was promoted to sergeant and assigned to Troop B in Plattsburgh. Schager returned to Troop G as station commander for Fonda and Princetown before being promoted to lieutenant in 2013.
As a lieutenant, he served in the Office of Counter Terrorism at the state Intelligence Center, Criminal Intelligence Section.
In 2018, Schager was promoted to captain and served roles including the BCI captain of the Drug Enforcement Task Force in New York City, a BCI captain in the Professional Standards Bureau — North Region and uniform captain of field command and zone commander of Troop G, Zone 2. In April, he was promoted to major and returned to the Office of Counter Terrorism as the detail commander for the Intelligence Center and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Schager served in the U.S. Army Reserve and then U.S. Marine Corps until 1996 when he joined the Marine Corps Reserve. He was mobilized three times for Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He retired in 2014 as sergeant major of 3D Force Reconnaissance Company in Alabama.
He obtained his college degree in criminal justice from Hudson Valley Community College in 1998. He is married with three children and lives in Schenectady County.
“I’m very thankful for the opportunity to lead the men and women of Troop G,” he said. “It’s a responsibility that I don’t take lightly. I look forward to continuing and building upon our great relationships with other law enforcement agencies and the community we serve.”