Photo By Airman 1st Class Carissa Fisher | A high school student tries on a military vest during the 107th Attack Wing recruiting...... read more read more
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NIAGARA FALLS AIR RESERVE STATION, N.Y. — The recruiters of the New York Air National Guard’s 107th Attack Wing has earned the Air Guard’s top recruiting award in the state.
The ten recruiters earned the Patriot Team award for exceeding their annual recruiting goal for federal fiscal year 2025.
They brought in in more new Airmen than projected, while maintaining strong retention and expanding outreach across Western New York.
The wing’s recruiting team recruited 105 new Airmen against a goal of 102, finishing the year at 102.9% of its target. The wing also maintained a 90% retention rate, helping maintain a 2% increase in overall wing strength.
“I’m incredibly proud and humbled by the recognition my team received this year,” said Master Sgt Kenneth Chudoba, the 107th Recruiting Flight Chief.
The recruiting team is also credited with generating 1,483 leads and conducting 441 recruiting events over 2025. This resulted in the second highest number of new airmen credited to the wing since last year with 108 recruits in 2024, according to Chudoba.
To support continued growth during periods of personnel turnover and extended parental leave the recruiting team secured funding for three additional full-time recruiters, bringing their total recruiting and retention team to ten airmen.
Staff Sgt Danny Garrett, one of the recruiters, credited the team’s success to a positive, supportive team mentality.
“We have a great team dynamic in the office, everyone prospers because of it,” he said.
The team also received $33,000 in additional funding, doubling its annual marketing budget and expanding its ability to conduct large-scale outreach events, according to Chudoba.
One of those efforts included a special operations–focused recruiting event supported by three Air National Guard wings across the state. That event cost $29,000 in additional funding, to conduct, he said.
The event expanded the New York Air National Guard’s recruiting reach to an estimated 257,000 social media users statewide, and exponential exposure across the state, Chudoba said.
The rigorous, mandatory physical fitness requirements and extensive technical training necessary to qualify for special operations is why it’s one of the most difficult fields to recruit into, Chudoba explained.
That is why events like this require so much funding and attention, he said.
“These schools are purposefully challenging to ensure we end up with the best candidates to serve in these warfighting roles,” Chudoba said.
New York’s Air Guard recruiters have also acquired a mobile flight simulator recruiting display, like those used by the active Air Force, to help the recruiters.
The $88,000 simulator was at the Erie County Fair for the first time in 2025 as well as two regional airshows, engaging more than two million attendees, Chuboda said.
Recruiters efforts also partnered with the New York State Department of Labor to establish a Teacher Ambassador Program, Garret said.
The Air Guard successfully hosting a spring career fair, engaging 150 local high school students and teachers, he said.
“Organizing these community events are huge for us, because they really help get the wing’s name image out there and reinforce relationships within our local communities,” Garrett, Garrett said.
Individual performance also played a key role in the wing’s recruiting success, according to Chuboda.
One of the 107th’s recruiters, Technical Sgt Thomas Viau was named the New York Air National Guard’s top production recruiter in New York. He exceeded his annual recruiting goal by 71% and led several of the wing’s highest-impact recruiting efforts.
He led the wing’s recruiting presence at the Erie County Fair for the first time, engaging with approximately 1.2 million attendees over a 12-day period.
Viau recruited 29 new Airmen against a goal of 17, including 14 referrals from current unit members, and generated 208 leads. His efforts alone increased the wing’s overall strength by 3%.
Viau also managed $52,000 in government purchasing funds to support recruiting events, marketing materials, and office equipment. Additionally, Viau is credited with helping bring in nine new officers to fill critical leadership positions and developing a training plan with the wings Force Support Squadron to reduce administrative delays. “I am humbled and honored by the recognition,” Viau said. “This is really more of a reflection of the team’s hard work, resilience, and dedication.”
Viau completed the National Guard Bureau recruiter training course, becoming the wing’s only recruiter qualified to train other recruiters. He mentored three new recruiters, who collectively recruited 18 Airmen and met their annual goals.
Lt Col Kristen Gibson, Recruiting and Retention Squadron Commander for the New York Army National Guard, credited Viau’s leadership and dedication to his and the 107th recruiting team’s achievements.
“He has a tremendous ability to connect with our community members and is a proud ambassador of the 107th’s mission,” she said. “The impact he’s made in just four years helped enable the team to exceed their mission for the second year in a row; Viau is the foundation of the recruiting team in Niagara.”
| Date Taken: | 02.05.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 02.05.2026 15:13 |
| Story ID: | 557557 |
| Location: | NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 12 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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