STEWART AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.Y. (Dec. 19, 2018) — Maj. Gen. Raymond Shields, the 54th Adjutant General for the State of New York, visited Airmen assigned to the 105th Airlift Wing at Stewart Air National Guard Base, New York Dec. 19, 2018.
Shields said he wanted to talk with Airmen and see where he could help them overcome challenges.
“I already had a pretty good understanding of what goes on at the air wings,” Shields said. “I’m coming out as the new adjutant general just to meet Airmen and to hear about the issues that they’re facing.”
Looking toward the future, Shields emphasized his three priorities of manning, readiness and availability to conduct civil support operations. He would like manning to be over 100 percent, have units focus on their readiness in order to support their national objective, and then in turn be prepared to be called on by the governor for homeland response.
He said the New York Air National Guard and the 105th plays a big role in that homeland response.
“The Air National Guard is a critical component of the New York military forces and a very large response capability when we have civil support response operations in support of the governor and during domestic operations,” Shields said.
Shields toured the base with wing leadership, meeting with Airmen along the way and presenting some with coins.
This was the first official visit by Shields since he took command of the state’s military forces Oct. 1, 2018.