{"id":10925,"date":"2025-12-07T17:29:26","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T17:29:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/?p=10925"},"modified":"2025-12-09T17:30:59","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T17:30:59","slug":"maryland-air-national-guard-welcomes-new-leadership-as-mission-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/2025\/12\/07\/maryland-air-national-guard-welcomes-new-leadership-as-mission-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland Air National Guard welcomes new leadership as mission changes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Staff Sgt. Alexandra Huettner<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MIDDLE RIVER, Md. —
The Maryland Air National Guard welcomed a new wing commander and a new acting assistant adjutant general \u2013 Air, during a dual change of command ceremony at Warfield Air National Guard Base at Martin State Airport, December 7, 2025, as the 175th Wing transitions to an expanded cyber mission.

The presiding official of the ceremony was Maryland Army National Guard Maj. Gen. Janeen L. Birckhead, the 31st adjutant general of Maryland, as they also said goodbye to the outgoing assistant general – Air.

\u201cToday is about leadership transitions, but it is also about our Airmen,\u201d said Birckhead. \u201cTheir professionalism, service, sacrifice, and unwavering commitment to the state. Our mission is evolving and our capabilities are expanding because of the dedication our Airmen and leaders have to the Maryland National Guard.\u201d

In the first portion of the ceremony, the outgoing Wing commander, Maryland Air National Guard Brig. Gen. Richard Hunt relinquished command to Maryland Air National Guard Col. Joed Carbonell.

Hunt has a long history in the Maryland Air National Guard, beginning his career as an enlisted member and working all the way up to wing commander and now will serve as interim assistant adjutant general.

\u201cWhen you start with assembling a team,\u201d said Hunt. \u201cAnd you surround yourself with an impenetrable wall of confidence, and then you trust and empower that team, it is amazing what can be accomplished. We will continue to take care of that team and focus on the future as we transition to new leadership.\u201d

In the latter portion of the ceremony, the outgoing assistant adjutant general \u2013 Air, Maryland Air National Guard Brig. Gen. Drew Dougherty relinquished command to Hunt.

Dougherty is set to retire next month after 27 years of service in the active-duty Air Force and the Air National Guard. Dougherty amassed over 4,900 military flying hours, including over 900 combat hours during six contingency deployments in the A-10, supporting operations Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom, Inherent Resolve, and Freedom\u2019s Sentinel.

\u201cChange is inevitable,\u201d said Dougherty. \u201cBut as history teaches us, what defines you is how you face it, how you adapt, and how you persevere. I\u2019m confident we are ready for that change because we have the right leadership team, the right airmen, and a history of excellence that stands the test of time. All the while, we continue in cyber operations, providing offensive, defensive, and intelligence capabilities that our nation relies on every single day.\u201d

During this time of transition from a dual-mission set to a complete cyber focus, the role of leadership is of the utmost importance.

Carbonell comes to the 175th Wing from the 179th Cyberspace Operations Group at Mansfield Air National Guard Base, Ohio, where he was the commander. Carbonell previously operated out of the 175th Wing but left to serve at the National Guard Bureau in 2021.

As Wing leadership continues to undergo transition and the Wing mission set changes, Carbonell emphasizes the importance of the Wing members’ resilience and patience.

\u201cI\u2019m extremely humbled by this opportunity to rejoin you as your commander and to serve you during this unique moment in time,\u201d said Carbonell. \u201cI fully acknowledge the anxiety, anger, or excitement that comes with this drastic change in mission. My commitment to the wing is that I will always strive to serve and lead you with passion, clear vision, and humility as we navigate this change together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Staff Sgt. Alexandra Huettner MIDDLE RIVER, Md. — The Maryland Air National Guard welcomed a new wing commander and a new acting assistant adjutant general \u2013 Air, during a dual change of command ceremony at Warfield Air National Guard Base at Martin State Airport, December 7, 2025, as the 175th Wing transitions to an  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":161,"featured_media":10935,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/161"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10925"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10925\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10938,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10925\/revisions\/10938"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}