Air Guard Col. Brett Batick, a Manlius resident, takes command of 174th Attack Wing Maintenance Group

HANCOCK FIELD AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Syracuse (06/07/2023) — New York Air National Guard Col. Brett Batick, a Manlius resident, assumed command of the 174th Attack Wing's maintenance group during an assumption of command ceremony held on June 3, at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse.

Batick replaced Col. Catherine Hutson, who also lives in Manlius, and retired after 32 years in the Air Force and Air National Guard.

Batick, who previously served in the Marine Corps as an F/A-18 pilot, joined the New York Air National Guard and the 174th Attack Wing in 2013.

He has also served as an MQ-9 Reaper evaluator pilot and as the operations officer for the 138th Attack Squadron, the commander of the 138th Attack Squadron, and the commander of the 174th Operational Support Squadron.

Batick told the audience that he was looking forward to his new job.

"I have been in the maintenance group for four years and can easily say the members in this group, without a doubt, lead the nation and quite literally the world in what we do here," Batick said.

The 174th Attack Wing flies the MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft which is used for reconnaissance and attack missions.

174th Airmen fly these aircraft in support of U.S. operations in the Middle East and other locations from a command center at Hancock Field.

The 174th Attack Wing also trains MQ-9 pilots and the enlisted Airmen who control the high-tech cameras and other sensors. The wing is also responsible for training MQ-9 maintenance personnel.

Wing Airmen also respond to emergencies here at home, ranging from snowstorms to Lake Ontario flooding, and provide trained personnel to deploy around the world in support of Air Force missions.

In his remarks, the commander of the 174th Attack Wing, col. William McCrink III praised both Batick and Hudson.

"It's a special day as we transfer command from one great officer to another great officer," Col. McCrink said."The maintenance group is very complex between having a field operating location, field training detachment, maintenance functions for supporting an aircraft, a ground control station, and satellite equipment. Col Hutson's job was to enable you all to succeed, and she did exactly that," he said.

"We will continue to move forward under Col. Batick's leadership, I expect the 174th Maintenance Group will continue to move forward and lean into developing multi capable airmen," McCrink said.

On June 4, McCrink turned over command of the 174th to Col. John O'Connor.

Batick holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida and a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from Vanderbilt University.

While serving in the Marine Corps, he was an advanced jet flight instructor.

Batick's awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Aerial Achievement Medal, the Air Force Achievement Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and the Iraq Campaign Medal.

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