Scott Jansson’s family from Averill Park was able to watch the Air Force officer’s promotion to Brigadier General on May 17 live via a video hookup between Baghdad and the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs Headquarters in Latham, NY. Jansson’s parents, Wes and Eileen Jansson, sister and brother-in-law Susan and Neil Gardner, brother, Randy Jansson, sisters, Deanna Harrington and Aimee Dodge and Aunt Edie Beach watched the ceremony on a television monitor.
Jansson serves as Director of the Iraq Security Assistance Mission, helping the Iraqi government build its military and police forces. He previously served as Vice Commander of the Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill Air Force Base, UT. Jansson, a 1980 graduate of Averill Park High School, was commissioned a second lieutenant upon graduation in 1984 from the US Air Force Academy. He earned a Master of Science in astronautical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology and is a distinguished graduate of the Air Command and Staff College. Jansson has earned a Legion of Merit, three Meritorious Service Medals, three Air Force Commendation Medals and an Air Force Achievement Medal.