Col. William McCrink, III a Cazenovia resident, and former commander of the 174th Attack Wing, retires after 26 years of military service
HANCOCK FIELD AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, SYRACUSE, N.Y. (08/11/2023) — Col. William J. McCrink III, a Cazenovia resident and the commander of the New York Air National Guard's 174th Attack Wing, retired after 26 years of military service during a ceremony at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base on Aug. 5, 2023.
McCrink, who took command of the wing in 2020, turned over the command to Col. John R. O'Connor in June.
Before McCrink commanded the 174th Attack Wing, he served as the commander of the 108th Attack Squadron and the 174th Operations Group.McCrink received his commission through the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Following graduation in 1996, McCrink became a TG-4 instructor pilot at the academy.
His assignments included flying the F-16 at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona and Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, and Atlantic City Air National Guard Base in New Jersey.
He served as the flight command and assistant director of operations, for the 20th Air Support Operations Squadron at Fort Drum and then moved onto assignments in the Republic of Korea and Aviano Italy, before joined the 174th Attack Wing.
Brig. Gen. Gary R. Charlton II, 105th Airlift Wing commander, presided over the retirement ceremony, which included speeches, awards and farewells.McCrink has flown missions and deployed in support of Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and participated in numerous NATO exercises and Tactical Evaluations as part of the NATO Strike Mission in Europe.
He was also responsible for establishing the first fully integrated daily MQ-9 Reper remotely piloted aircraft operations in civilian air space. McCrink is a command pilot with more than 2,400 flying hours in the F-16C and on the MQ-9.
McCrink has received numerous major awards and decorations for his achievements.During the ceremony, he thanked numerous people, from past commanders, family and friends to the young airmen who are currently serving.
The 174th Attack Wing flies the MQ-9 Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft is also responsible for total force aircrew production at the first Air National Guard MQ-9 Flight Training Unit, as well as provides maintenance technician training for the Air Force, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve, and NATO partner nations at the first Air National Guard MQ-9 Field Training Detachment.
Additionally, the wing hosts the 152d Air Operations Group, which supports operations in Europe and Africa.
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