New commander takes the helm at ANG's 106th Rescue Wing

New York State Air National Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing bid farewell to its outgoing commander, Colonel Michael Canders, and welcomed his successor, Colonel Tom Owens, during a change of command ceremony on Sunday, October 4, at the ANG base at Gabreski Airport in Westhampton.

“Wow. Thank you,” Col. Owens said to the audience before going on to thank his family, dignitaries and the hundreds of ANG members who stood in formation, dressed in their blues, during the 50-minute ceremony. “I am incredibly honored and humbled to command the 106th Rescue Wing.”

The afternoon included a formal change of command ceremony in which the outgoing commander, Col. Canders, clutched the 106th Rescue Wing’s flag with Brigadier General James W. Kwiatkowski, the commander of New York State’s Air National Guard, symbolizing the commander’s departure. The new commander, Col. Owens, then took hold of the flag with Gen. Kwiatkowski, symbolizing Col. Owens’s acceptance of his new post.

Serving as the vice commander at New York Air National Guard’s 174th Fighter Wing in Syracuse, New York, since 2007, Col. Owens is also a command fighter pilot with more than 3,800 hours in the air. He was selected to lead the 1,000-member 106th Rescue Wing by Adjutant General Major General Joseph Taluto.

The Iraq veteran was also a National Security fellow at the prestigious John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Col. Owens is married to Karen Hays Owens and they have two adult children.

During his remarks Sunday, Col. Owens paid homage to the men and women who serve at the base, which was founded in 1908. The 106th Rescue Wing’s wartime mission is to rescue American and allied forces trapped behind enemy lines. Presently, a few of the ANG members are stationed in Afghanistan, Col. Owens said.

The 106th Rescue Wing also provides search-and-rescue assistance to the U.S. Coast Guard in the Northern Atlantic during peacetime. It also offers support during NASA’s space shuttle missions.

The ANG’s history is an “incredible, proud accomplishment,” Col. Owens told the crowd.

During his speech, he also paid homage to the aircraft stationed at the Westhampton base, the ANG’s CH-130 Hercules airplanes and its HH-60 Pavehawk helicopters.

“They are big, noisy and they fly. They are remarkable, but they are just machines,” Col. Owens said, adding that it is the men and women of the 106th Rescue Wing that make those machines what they are.

Brig. Gen. Kwiatkowski said Col. Owens was one of the “best and the brightest” at the 174th Fighter Wing. A former Cazenovia, New York resident, Col. Owens flew F-16s in the Persian Gulf War and helped enforce the no-fly zones in Iraq after Operation Desert Storm.

Col. Canders, who has been in command of the Westhampton base since 2002, announced his departure in August. He will be headed to Baghdad, Iraq, to command the 447th Air Expeditionary Group at Sather Air Base.

“Mike will be a hard act to follow,” Brig. Gen. Kwiatkowski said, highlighting Col. Canders’s career at the 106th Rescue Wing, which included leading rescuers to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and helping save 161 lives.

Col. Canders began his military career as a naval aviator and participated in combat and search-and-rescue missions in Iraq in 2003.

“I hope this will be for you what it was for me,” Col. Canders said to Col. Owens during the ceremony. “The greatest job you’ll ever have.”

Sunday’s ceremony was attended by New York State military personnel and local leaders, including U.S. Representative Tim Bishop, Westhampton Beach Mayor Conrad Teller, Southampton Town Supervisor Linda Kabot, Southampton Town Board members Sally Pope and Anna Throne-Holst, and New York State Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick.