First female Idaho ANG wing commander Published March 14, 2014 By Lt. Col. Gary A. Daniel BOISE, Idaho -- The first female wing commander in Idaho Air National Guard history assumed command during a ceremony March 2 at Gowen Field here. Air Force Col. Sherrie McCandless was selected to command the 124th Fighter Wing. "We have a no-fail mission," said McCandless. "It is absolutely imperative that we respond diligently ... as you have throughout the years," McCandless just completed service as the director, Plans and Requirements, at the National Guard Bureau in Washington. "We are going to remain trained, focused, and responsive on our current mission here and now," she said. "It is difficult to see clearly into the future, but what I see extremely clearly is our airmen. The equipment can be replaced, but our airmen remain. It's the lifetime patriots that we are; we get up in the morning and head into work." McCandless is a former airlift squadron commander, a command pilot with flying experience in the Air Force T-38 Talon aircraft, F-16 Falcon aircraft, C-40 Clipper aircraft and C-38 Astra aircraft, an air liaison officer, and a combat veteran. She has served as the Executive Officer to the Chief of the Air National Guard, as Aide-de-camp to the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, and as a congressional liaison officer. McCandless became the fifteenth wing commander of the 124th Fighter Wing. "Any time you are moving into a position of leadership like this, you are always standing on the shoulders of those commanders that stood before you," she said. "I would like to extend a personal thank you to Col. Chris Rood for all his support during this transition. Thank you, Gen. Nolan, I know it takes everything that you've got to lead an organization at this level." Brig. Gen. Michael Nolan, assistant Adjutant General, Air, commander Idaho Air National Guard, presided over the ceremony. He thanked Col. Chris Rood for his service as 124th Fighter Wing Commander. "Today we find ourselves navigating a bit of rough air facing a potential divesture of the A-10 mission," Nolan said while talking about the future of the Idaho Air National Guard. "We are not in uncharted waters; the uncertainty we face is mission change. We have successfully navigated mission change on several occasions. As always we will succeed." "We will capitalize on your unique experience and qualifications," Nolan said of the incoming fighter wing commander McCandless. "I anticipate that you'll be a collaborative, articulate, well informed, and experienced leader capable of moving the wing forward." McCandless addressed the 124th FW Airmen. "We've accomplished nine aircraft conversions here," McCandless said. "Our Airman have retrained and quickly regained their combat mission readiness as rapidly as possible each time and they have continued to serve with distinction." McCandless thanked her husband, Lt. Col. Chris Sheppard, of the District of Columbia Air National Guard. Sheppard, a traditional guardsman, is commander of the 121st Operations Support Squadron. "I'm extremely proud of his deployment record to Iraq twice and to Afghanistan," said McCandless. "I'm not only a deployer myself, but I'm also a spouse. I wait and worry just as other spouses do for their spouse to come home from combat. I pledge my personal best to you all. I intend to uphold the promise of 'first class or not at all,'" she said.