Colonel William Carraher is the Maintenance Group Commander for the 109th Airlift Wing, Stratton Air National Guard Base, Scotia, New York. In this position, he leads nearly 300 Airmen, responsible for training and maintaining a mixed fleet, comprised of Department of Defense C & LC-130’s, the world’s only Ski-Equipped heavy lift aircraft, tasked with executing worldwide combat and polar airlift operations.
Col. Carraher enlisted into the New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing on Aug. 9, 1996. Upon completion of training he was assigned to the 139th AS as a pilot trainee. On May 14, 1998, Col. Carraher commissioned though the Academy of Military Science at McGhee Tyson ANGB, Tennessee. Within the 139th AS, he has served as Flight Commander, Chief Pilot and the 139th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron Commander. Colonel Carraher served as a Drill Status Guardsman for 19 years and began an AGR tour in October of 2015. He has participated in Operations Raven Dew, Enduring Freedom and Deep Freeze.
Col. Carraher served as a New York State Trooper for more than 20 years. With the State Police he worked in various regions of the State and held the positions of Trooper, Sergeant, Station Commander, Staff (First) Sergeant, Technical Lieutenant and Lieutenant. With SP Aviation he was responsible for operations oversight, administration, and inspection of five geographically dispersed stations as well as supervision of the centralized maintenance facility responsible for 19 aircraft. Col. Carraher was the 1033, DOD Support to Law Enforcement program, accountable official; acquiring and disposing of several aircraft for the State. He developed RFP’s for multimillion dollar product acquisitions and formulated budget requests for the Aviation Unit. He also served as Executive Pilot to the Governor, Flight Instructor and/or crewmember on UH-1H, B407, B430, C-172, C-206, P-68, and BE200 aircraft. For the final three years he served as Second in Command of the NYSP Aviation Command Staff where he held the title of Lieutenant –Administration.
EDUCATION
1992 Bachelor of Arts Degree, Geography, State University of New York, Albany, N.Y.
1992 Undergraduate Certificate in Geographical Information Systems and Spatial Analysis, SUNY Albany, Albany, N.Y.
1993 Master of Arts Degree, Geography, SUNY Albany, Albany, N.Y.
1993 Graduate Certificate, Geographical Information Systems and Spatial Analysis, SUNY Albany, Albany, N.Y.
1995 Basic School, New York State Police Academy, Albany, N.Y.
2003 NCO Fundamentals, New York State Police Academy, Albany, N.Y.
2004 USAF Squadron Officer School, by correspondence
2011 USAF Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
2019 USAF Air War College, by correspondence (In Progress)
2020 Accelerated Aircraft Maintenance Officer Course, Sheppard AFB Texas
ASSIGNMENTS
May 1998 – June 1998, Student, Academy of Military Science, McGhee Tyson ANGB, Tenn.
July 1998 – January 1999, Student, Joint Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training, Vance AFB, Okla.
January 1999 – August 1999, Student, Joint Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training, NAS Corpus Christi, Texas
September 2000 – October 2000, Pilot Trainee, Stratton ANGB, N.Y.
November 2000 – August 2000, Student, C 130 Qualification, Little Rock AFB, AR.
September 2000 – November 2002, Co-Pilot, 139 Airlift Squadron, Stratton ANGB, N.Y,
November 2002 – June 2006, Instructor Pilot, 139th Airlift Squadron, Stratton ANGB N.Y,
July 2006 – October 2015, Evaluator Pilot/Flight Commander, 139th Airlift Squadron, Stratton ANGB, N.Y.
October 2015 – January 2016, Chief Pilot, 139th Airlift Squadron, Stratton ANGB, N.Y.
February 2016 – Present, Squadron Commander, 139th Airlift Squadron, Stratton ANGB
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight Hours: More than 4,000
Aircraft Flown: T-37, C-12, C130 (E, H, LC)
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Air Medal
Aerial Achievement Medal with six oak leaf clusters
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS
Military Association of New York
National Guard Association of the United States
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 7, 1998
First Lieutenant May 7, 2000
Captain July 9, 2002
Major June 21, 2007
Lieutenant Colonel June 21, 2014
Colonel October 2020
(Current as of October 2020)