Guard Generals to Give Foliage Parade Salute
NORTH ADAMS — Each year, a distinguished member of the nation's military provides the salute during Fall Foliage Festival Parade. This year, two Massachusetts National Guard generals will provide the salute for the 53rd annual event, according to the Parade CommitteThey are Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Sellars, commander of Land Component Command and deputy commander of Joint Force Headquarters of Massachusetts Army National Guard, and Maj. Gen. Michael D. Akey, chief of staff of the Massachusetts Air National Guard and a commander of the Guard in Milford.
Sellars, who attended Stoughton High School, has held an assortment of command and staff positions, including commander of several artillery batteries, with Detachment 4, Recruiting and Retention Command and the 42nd Infantry Division (Mechanized) Artillery, and deputy chief of staff of operations, assistant chief of staff and secretary to the General Staff of Massachusetts Army National Guard. His service includes wartime duty in Iraq.
 Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Sellar
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 Maj. Gen. Michael D. Akey
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His awards include the Legion of Merit; Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters; Joint Service Commendation Medal; Army Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters; Army Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters; Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal with seven oak leaf clusters; National Defense Service Medal with two bronze stars; Iraq Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Humanitarian Service Medal; Armed Forces Reserve Medal with gold hourglass device and M Device-Mobilization; Army Service and Overseas Service ribbons; and a variety of state medals and awards, including the Massachusetts Medal of Merit.
Akey's Milford command includes more than 8,000
soldiers and airman of the Massachusetts Army National Guard and the 102nd Fighter Wing (F15A/C), 104th Fighter Wing (A10A), 253rd Combat Communications Group, 267th Combat Communications Squadron, 212th Engineering Installation Squadron and the Air National Guard Band of the Northeast.
He enlisted in the Air Force in December 1975. His initial assignment was as security police assigned to the 49th Tactical Fighter Wing, Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., later serving with the 57th Tactical Fighter Wing, Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and, under a program that allows transfer to the Guard or Reserve, the 104th Fighter Wing. While assigned to the 104th, he completed his bachelor's degree in criminal justice. Akey was commissioned through Officer Training School in June 1980 and he attended navigator and electronic warfare training at Mather Air Force Base, Calif.
In 1986 he left the active duty and joined the 104th Fighter Wing as an intelligence officer and chief of scheduling. He attended pilot training at Columbus Air Force Base, Miss., where he was a distinguished graduate and flying training award recipient. After reassignment back to the 104th, he held various positions as both a traditional guardsman and air technician. Akey has worked as chief of scheduling and of standardization/evaluation, and commander of B Flight, operations support flight and operations group and as director of operations, Joint Force Headquarters. In August 2004, he was appointed commander of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. In his civilian life, he is first officer on a Boeing 777 flying for United Airlines in Washington, D.C.
The Parade Committee is thrilled to include both Sellars and Akey as key components of the 53rd annual celebration.
For more information on the parade, contact Christine Hoyt at the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce office at 413-499-4000, Ext. 26, or visit www.fallfoliageparade.com.
