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COL William J. McShane
Commandant, FA VCASNY
COL. McShane, as a Helicopter Aircraft Commander, flew daily sorties in support of Marine Combat operations in I Corps region stretching from Chu Lai to the DMZ and was promoted to Captain in 1967. Following service in Vietnam he was assigned as a flight instructor at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California. His decorations include 35 awards of the Air Medal representing over 700 combat missions, Viet Nam Service and Campaign Medals, Viet Nam Gallantry Cross, Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Marine Corps Meritorious Unit Commendation and New York State’s Conspicuous Service Cross and Service Star. Mr. McShane left active duty in December 1968 and was appointed a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in February 1969, retiring in December 1992 as a Supervisory Special Agent in the Special Operations Branch. Since retirement he has held Corporate Management positions, been an Adjunct Professor and is currently an investigator under contract to the Department of Homeland Security. Recognizing the role military service played in his life he continues to support our veterans and service men and women as President and CEO of the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airman and Coast Guard Club, Commandant of the Veteran Corps of Artillery State of New York, Past New York Commander of the Military Order of Foreign Wars, Vice President of the Order of Lafayette and a member of the New York State Veterans’ Hall of Fame. Mr. McShane and his wife Joyce are proud parents of two accomplished children and five beautiful grandchildren.
COL J. Raymond (Ray) Mechmann Jr.
Vice Commandant, FA VCASNY
COL Mechmann has been a member of the Corps since 2005, and previously served as Acting Commandant (2015), Vice Commandant (2014), Chief of Staff (2008-2013), and G-3 (2007-2013). He also served briefly as the Firing Battery Commander (2009). His VCA Awards and Decorations include the St. Barbara Medal (as a member of the Honorable Order of St. Barbara), the VCA Gold and Silver Medals of Merit, and the Commandant’s Medal for Merit; he is also a member of the US Field Artillery Association, and a Chevalier of the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem.
COL Mechmann also holds the rank of LTC (P) in the New York Guard, where he is currently Commander of the 56th BDE, serving in that role since 2014. Previously he served as the Deputy Commander of that BDE. He has served as a commissioned JAG Corps Officer in the New York Guard since 1999, and was also Deputy Commander of the 5th Civil Affairs RGT in 2006. He previously served, from 2006 to 2010, as S-3 of the 56th BDE, and from 2003 to 2006 as S-3 of the 5th Civil Affairs RGT, directing all planning, training, and operations for those units. In 2012 he served with the New York State Military Forces, Joint Task Force 3, as Deputy Liaison Officer (LNO ) Coordinator for the State and Federal Military response to Hurricane Sandy. In 2011, he served in the same role in the State and Federal Military response to Hurricane Irene, and also as the New York Guard Liaison to Joint Task Force 3.
As a JAG Officer, since 2001 he has participated with the New York Guard in, and supervised, over 30 Legal Service Operations, for the counseling of, and preparation of wills and other legal instruments for, deploying or re-deploying Army National Guard, Air National Guard, US Army Reserve, and US Marine Corps Reserve personnel. He has also supervised numerous Emergency Management and First Responder Drills for the State of New York, and participated with the NYS Army National Guard in Operation Patriot East in 2004. In 2006 he was activated by the New York Guard with other New York State emergency personnel in a Search and Rescue mission at Indian Lake in the Adirondack State Park.
COL Mechmann currently lectures on the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act (SCRA), and Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act (USSERRA) for members of the NYS Army National Guard, NYS Air National Guard, US Army Reserve, and US Marine Corps Reserve. He has also lectured for several years at the New York Guard continuing and professional education schools. He is certified to serve as a Range Safety Officer and Range Officer in Charge by the NYS Army National Guard; in Basic Wildland Search and Rescue by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; in Mass Decontamination (CBRNE) by Westchester County; as a Basic Peace Officer Instructor by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services; and as a Basic Pistol and Rifle Instructor by the NRA. His New York State and New York Guard Awards and Decorations include the State Medal for Meritorious Service, the Medal for Humane Service to the State of New York (2 awards), and the New York State Defense of Liberty Medal, as well as the New York Guard Commander’s Citation and Medal for Meritorious Service.
A graduate of Manhattan College with a B.A. in History in 1979, and New York Law School with a J.D. in 1982, he also has an M.A. in History from the City University of NY, and did Doctoral Studies in Law and History at the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England in 1987 and 1988. A former career prosecutor, he is currently employed by the NYS Unified Court System, as the Principal Law Clerk to the Hon. David S. Zuckerman, Acting Justice of the Supreme Court, Westchester County. He has numerous publications in the fields of Law and History, and has conducted lectures on those subjects in professional and military educational settings, including the New York State Judicial Institute, Pace and New York Law Schools, and the LTC Dan King Memorial Lecture on Military History.