Chief Warrant Officer 5 Mark Shumway, a Greenwich resident, promoted to top NY Army National Guard position

Latham, NY (12/19/2022) — Chief Warrant Officer 5 Mark Shumay, a Greenwich resident and veteran of the Iraq War, was named the Command Chief Warrant Officer of New York during a Monday, Dec. 19 ceremony at New York National Guard headquarters in Latham.

Shumway replaced Chief Warrant Officer 5 Jacqueline O'Keefe, a Berne resident, who has served in the position since 2018, and retired after 40 years in the Army.

Warrant Officers are technical experts -pilots, intelligence analysts, personnel professionals, and medical professionals, for example--who fall between sergeants and commissioned officers in the Army's command structure. There are 247 Warrant Officers in the New York Army National Guard.

The Command Chief Warrant Officer is responsible to the commander of on issues involving warrant officer recruitment and training.

Major General Ray Shields, the adjutant general of New York, praised Shumway as an outstanding leader, and charged him with ensuring that the ranks of the warrant officer corps are filled with qualified people.

"Thank you for accepting this challenging and important position," Shields said.

In his remarks, Shumway thanked his family, most of whom have served in the Army, for their support and lessons during his 31-year military career.

"I absolutely wouldn't be here without your help and support," Shumway said.

"I am extremely proud and humbled to be the New York command chief warrant officer," he added. "I promise you my best efforts every day."

During the ceremony, Shields transferred a ceremonial saber from O'Keefe to Shumway, representing the responsibility for the mission going from one warrant officer to another.

Shumway began his military career as a warrant officer pilot flying the UH-1 "Huey" helicopter and the UH-60 Black Hawk with the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

He was later assigned to the 1st Armored Division in Katterbach, Germany as an operations officer and instructor pilot. While in Germany he deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1995-1996 and to Kosovo in 1999-2000.

He served with the 10th Mountain Division from 2001 to 2003 with the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade and deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.

Shumway joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in 2004 and served as an instructor at the Eastern Army Training Site at Fort Indiantown Gap, near Harrisburg.

He transferred to the New York Army National Guard in 2005 and held a variety of positions with the 3rd Battalion, 142nd Assault Aviation Battalion. He deployed with the battalion to Iraq in 2008-2009.

In 2013 he was assigned to the 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade and deployed to Kuwait as the airfield manager at Udairi Army Airfield.

He has served as the Command Chief Warrant Officer for the 42nd Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade.

Shumay is a 1990 graduate of Virginia Tech and a 2017 graduate of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Professional Aeronautics.

He is a graduate of the Army's Warrant Officer Senior Staff Course, Warrant Officer Staff Course, Aviation Warrant Officer Basic and Advanced Courses.

Shumway's awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Army Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon, and the NATO Medal.

He holds the Master Army Aviator Badge, Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, and several state awards.

Shumway and his wife Suzanne reside in Greenwich, NY; they have five children: Ryan (Ashley), Melissa (Reed), James, Lynsey, and Leah (Sean). Lynsey and Leah both serve in the New York Army National Guard. Additionally, they have a growing group of grandchildren.

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