White Rectangle

Snyder, Williams assume new Nevada Air Guard command roles

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Along with the new year comes new commanders for the 152nd Airlift Wing and the Nevada Air Guard. Col. David Snyder, the outgoing commander of the 152nd Airlift Wing, was promoted to the rank of brigadier general within the state of Nevada yesterday and took the reins of the entire Nevada Air Guard from Brig. Gen. Robert Fitch, who is retiring.
With Snyder's new role, temporary command of the 152nd Airlift Wing went to the unit's vice wing commander, Col. Michael Williams. Col. Jeffrey Burkett from the Ohio Air National Guard will take permanent command of the Nevada Air Guard's flagship unit this spring.

Snyder, a Yerington native, has been the 152nd Airlift Wing commander since November 2009 and led the organization through its exhaustive unit compliance inspection in September 2011 and through dozens of deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He said he was thrilled and humbled to accept his new position.  "In the military, there's no greater honor than command," Snyder said.

Like two-time president Grover Cleveland, Fitch served two stints as his organization's top official. Fitch served as the commander of the 1,100-Airman Nevada Air Guard from 2007 through January 2011 and then returned to his old post from August 2011 until Saturday. Fitch retires with more than 40 years of service to the High Rollers.

Williams, a 29-year veteran of the Nevada Air Guard, also serves as the director of operations for the Nevada National Guard. He is a command pilot with more than 1,000 hours in the RF-4C aircraft, more than 3,500 in the C-130 Hercules and multiple deployments to southwest Asia in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.
With more deployments and inspections looming, Williams acknowledged a busy year ahead for the unit and asked every High Roller to, "Step up and do what's asked, do what's right. Be the best at your craft, the best at your trade."