By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
Last May, Colonel William J. McCrink, III, a 24-year Air Force veteran and Cazenovia resident, took command of the New York Air National Guard’s 174th Attack Wing in Syracuse.
Stationed at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, the 174th Attack Wing (named in 2012) operates the unmanned MQ-9 Reaper.
The US Air Force describes the MQ-9 as “an armed, multi-mission, medium-altitude, long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft that is employed primarily against dynamic execution targets and secondarily as an intelligence collection asset. Given its significant loiter time, wide-range sensors, multi-mode communications suite, and precision weapons — it provides a unique capability to perform strike, coordination, and reconnaissance against high-value, fleeting, and time-sensitive targets.”
According to McCrink, the MQ-9 mission is multi-faceted.
“We support combat operations for the federal government and we also have two different training squadrons — one for all of the maintainers that touch the MQ-9 and another that does the flying training for the MQ-9 pilots and sensor operators,” said McCrink. “We call ourselves the ‘MQ-9 Center of Excellence’ for the Air National Guard because we have all those different pieces.”
Additionally, McCrink noted, the 174th Attack Wing is a fully functioning wing with five different groups.
“Obviously we have the flying and maintenance sides, but we also have a medical group, along with all of the associated squadrons, like logistics and civil engineering,” he said.
About half of the approximately 1,100-person base deploys every couple of years, while the other half — the “enablers” — remain in Syracuse, ready to deploy at a moment’s notice to support a federal mission.
According to McCrink, Hancock Field is also home to one of the Air National Guard’s Air Operations Groups, which directly support operations in Europe.
“We have a lot of things going on here,” McCrink said. “You take all of that and say, ‘Oh, that’s the Air Force.’ Yeah, but we are the Air National Guard — the New York Air National Guard — so we all have a state mission. Anytime the governor needs forces, he has his Army Guard and Air National Guard forces to tap into.”
As part of its state mission, the wing is called upon to respond to emergencies, such as flooding, hurricanes and large snow events.
In March, the wing sent around 98 individuals downstate to assist with the COVID-19 response.
As commander, McCrink is responsible for ensuring that his wing maintains its readiness to support any federal and state mission.
He is also committed to preparing to meet the mission requirements of the future.
“You look across the globe and [consider] what our competitors are out there, how we are positioned, and how we are ensuring that we are ready to meet those [future] requirements . . . ” McCrink said. “We are continually trying to develop our airmen to be ready to adapt to those new environments, to grow any of our mission sets, to grow our capabilities, and to innovate. We are just trying to figure out how to do it better.”
Since taking over the wing, the commander has worked to increase public awareness of the 174th Attack Wing and to foster leadership at the base and in the community.
According to McCrink, two-thirds of the wing’s personnel are part-time guardsmen, who typically work at jobs in the community during the week and serve at Hancock Field on weekends. They also must be available if called up for a state or federal activation.
“Although we are doing these state and federal missions, [our work] is really about the community,” said McCrink. “It’s a great trade-off. For a lot of folks, the skill sets that they learn in the Air National Guard directly translate to their careers on the civilian side, and visa versa. I have a young airman who works in HVAC here, but he also does that on the civilian side. He brings lots of experience to the team that we might not see if he was working full-time out here.”
McCrink officially took over the 174th Attack Wing from Col. Michael Smith during a socially distanced Change of Command ceremony at Hancock Field on May 3.
“Throughout your career, you are always looking towards the next thing, like ‘I want to move up, I want to be a flight commander, I want to be a squadron commander,’” McCrink said. “About five years ago, [taking over the wing] was one of my goals. I love it here in Syracuse, I love the mission of the 174th, and I wanted to continue to help the area and help the unit meet those missions, so when I was able to take over, I thought, ‘This is great, I’m achieving my goals.’ But the real driver and the reason I love getting up, putting on the uniform, and coming to work everyday is that I know we are helping the community, we are serving the state, and we are serving our country.”
McCrink is a 1996 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado. As a command pilot, he has more than 2,000 flying hours in the F-16C Fighter and the MQ-9.
He joined the New York Air National Guard in 2011 as the 174th operations support squadron chief of operations, and he has since had several squadron and group commands.
McCrink lives in Cazenovia with his wife, Kelly, and four children.
“We have been married for 22 years, moved nine times, lived in three different countries and been through many war time deployments, a remote deployment, along with the demanding hours of flying combat air patrols over NYC and the capital on 9/11 and after,” said Kelly. “Thankfully, his time away slowed down due to switching from active duty Air Force to the Air National Guard. The guard has allowed us to let our children grow roots here in Caz.”
The couple’s second born son, Dylan, a 2019 Cazenovia High School graduate, has entered the Air National Guard and will be joining his father part time in Syracuse until he graduates from Ithaca College and begins working towards becoming a full-time officer.
“What I am most proud of isn’t the rank on Will’s shoulders or the medals on his chest,” said Kelly. “I’m proud of his ability to balance the demands of being an officer and a parent. It doesn’t matter the trips or the hours he has just put in, he actively and lovingly is there for our children from coaching their sports teams, helping with schoolwork, listening to their daily unloads and always encouraging them to always do the right thing . . . So if you want to know how I feel about our son Dylan’s choice of following his dad’s footsteps, well I guess the question is, why wouldn’t he? Will is an amazing role model of how a man should be for his country and family.”
When Dylan decided to join the unit two years ago, McCrink swore him in.
“I am extremely proud,” said McCrink. “As a parent, you want your kids to grow up . . . and choose their own paths. As long as they are successful, I don’t really care what that path is, but when one of them chooses to do the same thing that you’ve been doing for your entire career, that’s definitely a proud moment . . . One of the things I love about the Air National Guard is that it’s kind of like a family . . . [Dylan] grew up seeing what I do and decided he wanted to be part of it. We have a lot of family members across the wing that have done [that as well].”
For more information on the 174th Attack Wing, visit 174attackwing.ang.af.mil.
