Former EADS Command promoted to brigadier general in the New York Air National Guard

Oriskany resident Paul M. Bishop now serving as New York Air Guard Chief of Staff

Rome, NY (09/14/2023) — Paul M. Bishop, an Oriskany resident and former commander of the Eastern Air Defense Sector, was promoted to brigadier general (one-star) in the New York Air National Guard during a Sept. 6, 2023, ceremony at the Capitol Theater in Rome, New York.

Bishop is now serving as Chief of Staff for the New York Air National Guard, which is headquartered in Latham, New York. He served in the Northeast Air Defense Sector, and then the Eastern Air Defense Sector, for 29 years.

Bishop is a life-long resident of Oriskany. He grew up there when is father was stationed at the former Griffiss Air Force Base in the 1970s. His mother also worked on the base. His first job as a teenager was bagging groceries at the Griffiss commissary.

EADS is located at Griffiss Technology Park, which is on the site of the former Griffiss Air Force Base.

Bishop is a 1989 U.S. Air Force basic training graduate with more than 30 years' experience in the Air National Guard. His first assignment was at the 174th Fighter Wing in Syracuse, where he was an F-16 avionics maintenance specialist. In 1991, he deployed with the 174th to Al Kharj Air Base, Saudi Arabia, for Operation Desert Storm.

In 1993, Bishop transferred to the 113th Air Control Squadron (ACS) in Syracuse and subsequently received his commission through the Academy of Military Science at McGhee-Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tennessee. He then completed Weapons Director training at Tyndall AFB.

In 1994, Bishop moved to Rome when the 113th ACS assumed the NORAD mission at the Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS).

During the past 29 years, Bishop has worked more than 31,000 mission crew hours and held several leadership positions. He holds numerous Air Battle Management qualifications including Battle Commander, Mission Crew Commander, Weapons Director, Weapons Director Technician, Weapons Assignment Officer, and Senior Director.

Bishop has played a key role in several critical projects during his time at EADS.

He helped plan and implement NEADS transition into the Eastern Air Defense Sector, a change that more than doubled the unit's geographic area of responsibility.

Bishop planned and executed the first-ever live-fly exercise in the Washington, D.C. area that integrated NORAD fighter planes with U.S. Army ground-based air defense assets and supervised an analysis project that devised a new work schedule to reduce crew fatigue.

Prior to taking over as Chief of Staff, Bishop was the Eastern Air Defense Sector (EADS) Commander.

During his time at EADS, he has also served as the 224th Air Defense Group (ADG) Commander, 224th Support Squadron Commander, 224th Air Defense Squadron Operations Director, Flight Commander, Assistant Flight Commander, and Weapons Section Officer-in-Charge.

A 1998 graduate of Columbia College, Bishop has completed the Squadron Officers Course at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. He has also completed Air Command and Staff College and Air War College.

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