Greenfield Center airman takes command of 109th Airlift Wing
New York Air National Col. Robert Donaldson of Greenfield Center, an Afghanistan war veteran, has assumed command of the 1,160-member 109th Airlift Wing during a ceremony at the Stratton Air National Guard Base in Scotia.
Donaldson replaced Col. Christian Sander of Lake George, a C-130troopcargo aircraft pilot, who had led the wing since 2020. Sander retired after 32 years of military service. Maj. Gen. Denise Donnell, the commander of the New York Air National Guard, presided over the change of command ceremony.
“I know you will keep your focus on safety, strength and readiness,” Donnell told Donaldson.
Donaldson is a LC-130H navigator with nearly 2,000 flying hours supporting operations in Antarctica and Greenland and mobilizing in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in the Middle East. He previously served as deputy wing commander of the 109th Airlift Wing.
Donaldson has completed numerous Greenland missions and served at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. In the past, he has served at the National Guard Bureau and was the director of staff at New York’s Joint Force Headquarters in Latham.
Donaldson was commissioned as a second lieutenant upon graduation from the Academy of Military Science in 1999. He previously served eight years as an enlisted aircrew member with the Air Force and the New York Air National Guard.
The colonel earned an associate of science degree in math and science at Hudson Valley Community College, Troy, a bachelor of science in civil engineering at Union College, Schenectady and a law degree at Albany Law School. He also is a graduate of the Academy of Military Science, Mcghee-tyson Air National Guard Base, Tenn.
He earned a master of arts in national security and strategic studies at the Naval War College, Newport, R.I. and a master of philosophy, military strategy at the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. He has earned five Meritorious Service Medals, a Joint Service Commendation Medal, three Air Force Commendation Medals, eight Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards, and an Air and Space Organizational Excellence Award.
Sander, a command pilot with more than 4,350 flying hours, has served as an instructor-evaluator pilot as well. He has earned a Meritorious Service Medal, an Aerial Achievement Medal, a Combat Readiness Medal, an Antarctic Service Medal and a Humanitarian Service Medal.
Donaldson now leads airmen whose primary mission is to provide airlift within Antarctica, flying to various remote locations from Mcmurdo Station.
Crews transport scientists, support, fuel, supplies, medical supplies, and research equipment across the continent. The wing also flies missions to support science research in Greenland. The wing operates 10 LC-130 Hercules transports configured with skies to land on ice and snow.
Next Patriot Flight
World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War and Cold War veterans and their guardians can sign up for a free one-day excursion slated for Wednesday, April 17 to visit their war monuments, historic sites in Washington, D.C. as well as the Arlington National.
The Capital District Patriot Flight, a hub of the National Honor Flight Network, will fly the veterans and their guardians on a Southwest Airlines aircraft from the Albany International Airport to Baltimore-washington International Airport. They will board two buses that will transport them to the nation’s capital. Wheelchairs will be provided.
Each guardian is assigned to a veteran or several veterans to provide assistance and serve as the veterans’ guides. Some will push veterans in wheelchairs. Volunteers are also needed for a variety of logistical, administration and other tasks. Veterans are free. Each guardian pays a $450 fee the helps offset flight, meal, transportation and other expenses.
“We still have openings for veterans so if you know of any veteran encourages him and or her to go onto the website (Patriotflight.org) and apply,” says Jennifer Lyons of Berne, Patriot Flight spokeswoman.
Veteran and guardian applications also can be downloaded from Patriotflight.org., filled out and mailed in. Veterans and their guardians will visit the Navy Memorial, the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam War (Wall) Memorial, Women’s Military Memorial, Air Force Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and Iwo Jima Monument at the Marine Corps War Memorial also in Arlington.
Donations to help finance future flights can be made payable to Patriot Flight Inc. and sent to Patriot Flight, P.O. Box 13776, Albany, NY 12212-3776 or by Paypal via Patriotflight.org.
The Capital Patriot Flight serves veterans from Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Saratoga, Washington, Columbia counties as well as parts of Vermont and Massachusetts.
Since Patriot Flight was founded by the late Bill Peak of Brunswick in 2007, the nonprofit has flown more than 1,000 veterans to visit their war memorials.
For more information, contact Jennifer Lyons at 518-872-0812 or jenniferlyons63@yahoo.com.
News of your troops and units can be sent to Times Union, Duty Calls, Terry Brown, Box 15000, Albany, NY 12212 or brownt@timesunion.com