Commander of state National Guard retires

http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/...gion-apnewyork

November 5, 2005, 9:55 PM EST

NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. -- The commander of the state's National Guard retired Saturday after 36 years in uniform, saying, "I don't want to leave. But it's time."

Maj. Gen. Thomas Maguire Jr., 58, commanded 20,000 members of the state's Army and Air National Guard, Naval Militia and New York Guard.

Speaking at a ceremony at Stewart Air National Guard Base, Maguire praised the guard members for their willingness to leave home when duty called in Iraq and on the Gulf Coast after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

"You are heroes. You are heroines," Maguire said.

The 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center came just a month after Gov. George Pataki appointed Maguire state adjutant general.

William Howard, Pataki's chief of staff, said it was fitting the retirement took place at Stewart, where Maguire was commander from January 1994 to August 2001.

Maguire, who lives in nearby Walden, said he might pursue work as a military consultant in Washington D.C.