Brigadier General (NY-RET) Max H. Della Pia is Director of Staff—Air, New York Air National Guard. Prior to that General Della Pia served as commander, 109th Airlift Wing, Stratton ANGB, Scotia, New York. In this position he was responsible to the Governor of New York for the only LC-130 Airlift Wing in the world. The mission of the 109th Airlift Wing’s ski-equipped LC-130s is to provide the nation “global reach to the Poles.” The Wing annually deploys aircraft and its trained and equipped aircrews and maintenance teams to Antarctica for each austral summer (October to March) in support of Operation DEEP FREEZE. While deployed to Antarctica, the unit provides airlift and polar airdrop support to the research efforts of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and several other nations. Each year, from April through August, the unit provides airlift and polar airdrop support to NSF and several allied nations in Greenland and above the Arctic Circle. The Wing also provides a variety of other capabilities to the National Command Authority (supporting the Expeditionary Air Force in various theaters throughout the world) including C-130 tactical airdrop, & air land, rapid runway repair, civil engineering, security forces, aeromedical evacuation, communication, transportation, aerial port, firefighting support, and medical services.
The general graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics. Since then, he has served over twenty-five years as a pilot, flight instructor, and/or a flight examiner in several models of the C-130 (A, E, E/H & H2). Prior assignments include duty as a Pilot Scheduler; Command Post Controller; Chief of Current Operations; Chief of Tactics; Chief of Mobility and Plans; Military Legislative Assistant (Fellow) to a U.S. Senator; Legislative Liaison Officer, and Special Advisor the Chief of Reserve Policy Integration, HQ Air Force Reserve Command; and Air Force Reserve Advisor to the Commander, 19th Air Force. A command pilot with more than 6,500 total flying hours.
EDUCATION
1975 Bachelor of Science, Economics, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
1980 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
1984 Juris Doctorate, Law, Cum Laude, Marquette University Law School, Milwaukee, Wisc.
1992 Air Command and Staff College
1995 Air War College
1996 LEGIS Fellow, through the Government Affairs Institute at the Brookings Institution, on the Personal staff of the Hon. Carl Levin, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.
1998 Master of Science, National Resource Strategy, Distinguished Graduate, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, Fort Lesley R. McNair, Washington, D.C.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. August 1975 - December 1976, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Columbus AFB, MS.
2. December 1976 - November 1981, C-130 Aircraft Commander, Chief of Squadron Mobility & Plans, and Pilot Scheduler, in the 32nd Tactical Airlift Squadron; Assistant Executive Officer to the 314th Tactical Airlift Wing Commander, and C-130 Aircraft Commander, and Squadron Supervisor of Flying, in the 50th Tactical Airlift Squadron, Little Rock, AFB, AR.
3. September 1981 - May 1984, Law Student Marquette University Law School, Milwaukee, WI., Law Clerk, Hon. Leander J. Foley, Milwaukee County Court; and Legal Research Assistant, Defense Research Institute
4. May 1984 - June 1986, Max H. Della Pia, Attorney-at-Law, Milwaukee, WI., and C-130 Aircraft Commander in 95th Airlift Squadron (Air Force Reserve Command), GMIAP, Milwaukee, WI.
5. June 1986 - June 1988, Associate Attorney, Ruder, Ware, Michler and Forester, S.C., C-130 Aircraft Commander and Wing Command Post Controller, 440 Airlift Wing (Air Force Reserve Command), GMIAP, Milwaukee, WI.
6. June 1988 - August 1990, Staff Attorney, Straub & Schuch, Wausau Insurance Companies; Wausau, WI., and C-130 Aircraft Commander; and Wing Command Post Controller, 440 Airlift Wing (Air Force Reserve Command), GMIAP, Milwaukee, WI.
7. August 1990 - January 1996, C-130 Instructor Pilot, Chief of Current Operations, Pilot Scheduler, Assistant Operations Officer, and Chief of Tactics, 95th Airlift Squadron (Air Force Reserve Command), GMIAP, Milwaukee, WI.
8. January 1996 - December 1996, LEGIS Fellow, on the personal staff of the Hon. Carl Levin, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.
9. December 1996 - August 1997, Special Advisor to the Chief of Reserve Policy Integration, detailed to Air Force Senate Liaison, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.
10. August 1997 - August 1998, Student, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, Fort Lesley R. McNair, Washington, D.C.
11. August 1998 - November 1999, Air Force Reserve Advisor to the Commander, HQ 19th Air Force, Randolph AFB, TX.
12. December 1999 - August 2006, Commander, 109th Airlift Wing (NYANG), Stratton ANGB, Scotia, NY
13. August 2006 - June 2007, Director of Staff—Air, New York Air National Guard Headquarters, Latham, NY
14. Jun 2007 - Jan 2008, Senior Airfield Authority and 451st Air Expeditionary Group Commander, Kandahar Afghanistan
15. January 2008 - April 2008, Director of Staff—Air, New York Air National Guard Headquarters, Latham, NY
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Command Pilot
Flight Hours: More than 6500
Aircraft Flown: T-41; T-37, T-38; C-130A, E, E/H, and H2; LC-130/L-1, L-2, and R
Pilot Wings: Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star
Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Aerial Achievement Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Humanitarian Service Medal
Kuwait Liberation Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant, June 6, 1975
First Lieutenant, June 6, 1977 Captain, August 30, 1979
Major, September 6, 1989
Lieutenant Colonel, September 6, 1996
Colonel, February 29, 2000
Brigadier General (NY-RET)—effective upon retirement, 8 Apr 2008
(Biorgraphy Current as of 8 April 2008)
