By JEANETTE DEFORGE | masslive.com | Published: April 17, 2021 CHICOPEE, Mass. (Tribune News Service) A colonel with 33 years of experience in the Air Force and Air Reserve, including flying combat missions during Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, will become the new commander of the Reserve’s 439th Airlift Wing. Col. Joseph D. Janik, who began work at Westover Air Reserve Base this week, will officially assume command of the wing in a ceremony scheduled for May 1, said Lt. Kristine MacDonald, public affairs officer for the wing. Janik succeeds Col. Craig C. Peters, who served as Westover’s commander for the past two years. Peters, whose last day at work was Tuesday, is retiring after a 37-year career in the military, she said. Peters, who grew up in West Springfield, and his wife, Cathie, a graduate of Chicopee High School, have ties to Western Massachusetts.