Oneonta’s General

Retires From Guard

USGS Named Glacier In His Honor

For Service To South Pole Station

SCOTIA – Otsego County’s general, Anthony P. German, turned aside praise with levity at his retirement ceremony Saturday at Stratton Air National Guard Base here.

Saying he didn’t recognized the man described in his colleagues’ accolades, the former commander of the New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing told the audience, “It’s not about what we do at the two-star and three-star level.  It’s about what you do at the worker level.”

With the rank of major general, German also led the New York Army and Air National Guard from 2016 to 2018.

German, who lives in Oneonta, served 36 years in the Air Force and the New York Air National Guard. Saturday’s ceremony was his last official military duty.

German spent 18 years in the 109th Airlift Wing. The wing is the only unit in the U.S. military to fly aircraft which can land on snow or ice using skies.

As part of the ceremony German was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and the state Meritorious Service Medal.

German was praised for his humility, his dedication to duty, and his genuine concern for the men and women he commanded during his career.

“Our nation, our National Guard, and our community is so much better today because we had a chance to service with Tony German,” said Lt. Gen. (3-Star) L. Scott Rice, Air National Guard director.

German’s last job was serving as special assistant to Rice, after he stepped down as Adjutant General in October 2018.

Even serving for only a short time in that position, German made a difference in helping the Air National Guard, Rice said.

Maj. Gen. Kevin Bradley, a New York Air National Guard officer who now serves as the chief of information for the National Guard, said that German “always did his best to meet the mission and take care of his people along the way.”

In his remarks, German thanked his family for supporting his service and also emphasized that the 109th Airlift Wing and the National Guard as a whole is like a family.

“With family, with faith and with friends you can do anything,” German said.

“It is an absolute privilege to wear the uniform and it is an absolute privilege to take it off,” he added.

German was commissioned as an Air Force navigator in 1983 through Officer Training School. He spent six years on active duty before joining the New York Air National Guard in 1989.

He served in a number of positions in the 109th Airlift Wing to include standardization evaluation navigator, weapons and tactics officer, chief of current operations, chief of standardization, chief of wing plans and executive support staff officer before becoming the wing commander.

In 2003-04 German served as the Department of Defense Liaison to the National Science Foundation in Washington D.C. He coordinated military support for National Science Foundation research efforts in the Antarctic and Greenland.

In April 2018, the National Science Foundation recognized German’s efforts in that role, and in his jobs at the 109th Airlift Wing in supporting the National Science foundation by naming a glacier in Antarctica after him in April 2018.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey Board on Geologic names German was recognized because he was “instrumental in increasing the efficiency of flight operations in Antarctica, which was critical to completing the South Pole Station Modernization on schedule while also maintaining support of research and numerous other high-level projects.”

In 2010 German was promoted to brigadier general (one-star) and named Chief of Staff of the New York Air National Guard and served in that position until 2015.

In 2015 he was promoted to two-star general and named commander of the New York Air National Guard and Assistant Adjutant General and served as assistant adjutant general until April 2016.

He replaced Major General Patrick Murphy as adjutant General in April 2016.

German graduated from SUNY Cobleskill with an associate degree in accounting in 1979 and earned a bachelor of science in business in 1981 from Oneonta State University.

After being commissioned in the Air Force he attended Squadron Officer School and completed the Air Command and Staff College by correspondence. He attended the U.S. Naval War College in Newport Rhode Island and earned a masters in national security and strategic studies in 2002.

He attended several advanced training classes to include the Joint Task Force Commander Training Course, the Senior Executive Seminar at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, the Homeland Protection Course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Executive Education In Leadership Decision Making at Harvard.

He is a master navigator with over 4,900 flying hours.

German also the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Force Aerial Achievement Medal and the Antarctica Service Medal.
German lives in Oneonta with his wife Diana.

They have four children, Josh, Ben, Zach and Bekah. Joshua German and Ben German are also both members of the New York Air National Guard.