LATHAM, N.Y. (NEWS10) — A Clifton Park woman was promoted to brigadier general Wednesday morning in a star-pinning ceremony at New York National Guard Headquarters.

Colonel Denise M. Donnell, Commander of New York Air National Guard’s 105th Airlift Wing and Stewart Air National Guard base in Newburgh, took her oath of office in front of a limited in-person audience and virtual audience. Donnell is a command pilot with more than 3,800 hours of flying time, and oversees a wing of more than 1300 military personnel. 

Donnell didn’t get the typical promotion ceremony with hundreds in attendance and a line of handshakes after taking her oath, but she is grateful for the way her colleagues stepped up to honor her, despite the current challenges.

“It doesn’t matter what is thrown at us, whether it’s a new airplane or a new mission, or global pandemic. We respond, we step up, we figure out how to get the job done,” Donnell told NEWS10, “whether it’s a ceremony like today, or flying a mission across the world.”

Donnell is the fourth woman New York Air National Guard officer to be promoted to general officer rank.