Volume 10 Number 2 Spring 2017

Serving the New York Army and , Naval Militia, New York Guard and Families www.dmna.ny.gov FROM THE LEADERSHIP Communicating our National Guard commitments he nation and our state and site to fly their wartime missions. For those who feel like you need Tnational leaders are asking We have the 109th Airlift Wing to run hard just to stand still, be- a lot of our National Guardsmen training and flying missions in cause you’re so busy, hang in there. these days. The catch phrase for Greenland until August and then You’re doing important work. the Guard for years has been one heading back to Antarctica from If you’re a leader I am counting weekend a month and two weeks October to next March. on you to spend time communi- a year. I would ask each one of We have the 174th Attack Wing cating with your troops. I want you you, is that true? training students and flying com- to really listen to what they say. The National Guard today re- bat missions every day, 24 hours a Let them know about upcoming quires much more of each of us. day, seven days a week, 365 days a missions and why we are asking If you’re a member of the 69th year to keep us all safe. more from them. Listen to their Infantry, you know it took extra For a couple of months this concerns. Make sure your troops training to get ready for three weeks summer we had almost 1,000 know what is expected. Listen to in Australia for Talisman Sabre. Maj. Gen. Guardsmen on duty for flood con- their questions and concerns. If you’re in the 27th Infantry Anthony German trol along Lake Ontario, or work- What do they need to do their Brigade headquarters or 2nd men. We count on you to be our ing New York security with job? How can you help them suc- Squadron, 101st Cavalry, then you eyes and ears on the ground, but if Joint Task Force Empire Shield. ceed? Does they need to change know that a few months ago you you’re too scary, that young private Our Soldiers and Airmen will MOS or AFSC? were not thinking about a nine- or airman first class isn’t going to continue to miss holidays, birth- I know it’s harder for Army month deployment to Ukraine to honestly open up. days, graduations, weddings, fam- leadership to circulate to armories train that country’s army. But now Communication is what makes ily reunions, you name it, we miss that are scattered across upstate that is the priority mission. our teams work, and when a team it. I wish I could tell you that the New York than it is for Air Guard If you’re in the 42nd Infantry comes together, they can accom- pace will slow down, but as long as leaders to talk to people all clus- Division, then you know that soon plish extraordinary missions. there is conflict in this world and tered on one base. But I encourage you’ll be gearing up for extra train- Each of you are completing an domestic needs in the state, we will all of you to get out and see the ing time to get ready for Warfight- extraordinary mission each day. It be working. folks that make things happen. er and a deployment in 2019. may not seem like it, but we need Being a Guard Soldier is defi- We ask a lot of our Army Guard And if you’re in the 53rd Troop to be ready to respond at a mo- nitely a lot more than a weekend platoon sergeants and squad Command, you were definitely ment’s notice when called. We are each month and two weeks a year. leaders. We should make sure that not planning on spending a snowy all going to be busy. We are going I appreciate the sacrifices you all those E-7s, E-6s, and E-5s have our March day in a Humvee beside In- to be asked to do more. make to serve: missed time with priorities and treat our Soldiers terstate 84 so you could shut down You’ve all got an important mis- family, and friends and kids. in a way that makes them want to the highway. But you did. sion to do. And it all matters to the Recently Brig. Gen. Ray Shields, stay in the Guard. Make sure those If you are a member of the people of this nation that we serve. the Army Guard commander, direct leaders have the information Air Guard, you know worldwide Thank you for what each one of teamed up with Brig. Gen. Steve they need to help Soldiers make deployability within 72 hours takes you do every day. Ferrari, the commander of the decisions. more than one weekend a month 42nd ID, and Brig. Gen. Mike I’ve also got a special and two weeks every summer. Natali, commander of the 53rd message for all you Army We have the 105th Airlift Wing Troop Command, to write a letter sergeants major and Air flying global missions working for to employers explaining why we Guard chiefs out there. . are asking you to spend more time I’ve had the opportu- We have the 106th Rescue training for and being on missions. nity to meet a lot of you Wing who showed up for a nor- It’s a good letter and I urge you since becoming Adjutant mal workday and within hours to share it with your boss. If you General, and you folks are launched an aircraft and parares- have not yet read it, check in with an awesome group. You’re cue team to save the lives of two your first-line leader. professional, dedicated, and civilians who were involved in a Make sure your employer un- experienced. And you can ship accident halfway across the New Troops Join Ranks derstands why you may need more also be very intimidating. Atlantic. You can read the details time off and make sure you give You intimidate me QUEENSBURY, N.Y. -- Pfc. Kyle Lamica of this demanding mission on page shakes hands with his Drill Sergeant them a heads up way before sched- sometimes, so imagine how 24 of this issue of Guard Times. during a recruit Battle Handoff uled training and deployments. you come across to a young We have the 107th Attack Wing, Ceremony here May 21. Lamica and I know there are some units out troop. 110 other recruits recently completed who just started flying combat there where things seem a little bit Keep that in mind as training and now join their units missions from Niagara Falls after statewide. Lamica begins his military slow right now, but trust me that is you’re out there mixing it up spending two years travelling off- career with Company B, 2nd Battalion, likely to change. with the Soldiers and Air- 108th Infantry in Morrisonville, N.Y. Photo by Pfc. Andrew Valenza, Joint Force Headquarters. Spring 2017 Volume 10, Number 2 This Issue’s Highlights:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, Commander in Chief Faces of the Force Maj. Gen. Anthony German, The Adjutant General Eric Durr, Director of Public Affairs 4 Lost Boy gives back to adopted country, joins Air Guard Col. Richard Goldenberg, Public Affairs Officer 5 Engineer mentors team to success in TAG Match l Capt. Jean Kratzer, Command Information Officer 6 New York Soldier competes in Best Ranger Competition Pfc. Andrew Valenza, Guard Times Photographer Around the State About Guard Times 8 Rainbow Division Veterans honor WWII Soldier The Guard Times is published quarterly using federal funds authorized under provisions of AR 360-1 and The Joint Force AFI 35-101 by the New York State Division of Mili- 12 Joint Task Force tackles Lake Ontario flooding tary and Naval Affairs and the New York Army and Air National Guard Public Affairs Office. 13 Ardent Sentry Exercises Dual Status Command in New York 14 Civil Support Team takes training to the ballpark Views which appear in this publication are not neces- Army National Guard sarily those of the Department of Defense, the Army, the Air Force or the National Guard Bureau. 16 Rainbow Division welcomes new commanding general 17 27th Infantry Brigade leadership changes add star for commander The Guard Times has a circulation of 17,000 and is 18 Sniper Competition challenges Orion Soldiers distributed free to members of the New York State Military Forces and employees of the Division of 20 Harlem Hellfighters transition out of Kuwait; homeward bound Military and Naval Affairs. 21 Aircrew Soldiers recognized for winter rescue 22 Artillery, Aviation team up for Fort Drum air assault training Submissions Air National Guard Articles, photos and letters are welcome. Please pro- vide article submissions via email saved in Microsoft 24 106th Atlantic Rescue Saves lives of two sailors Word or rich text format (rtf) along with high resolu- 26 Air Force Amanda introduces children to Antarctica tion digital (jpg) photos. Submission deadlines are January 15 (winter issue), April 15 (spring issue), July 27 109th Turns Attention to Greenland for Summer missions 15 (summer issue), and October 15 (fall issue). Send New York Guard your submissions to: 28 New York Guard Commemorates 100 years of Service Guard Times New York Naval Militia DMNA-MNPA 330 Old Niskayuna Road 30 Sailors and Marines lend support on Lake Ontario waters and shoreline Latham, New York 12110-3514 OFFICE (518) 786-4581 FAX (518) 786-4649 or [email protected]

Complimentary or Back Issues of the Guard Times are Soldiers from the available. Contact us at the address above or visit us 3rd Battalion, 142nd on the web for current news, photos or to download Aviation assigned to prior issues at www.dmna.ny.gov the Army Aviation Support Facility in Latham set up a Bambi Bucket for training near Round Lake, N.Y., May 31, 2017. The annual qualification training prepares crews for wildfires, so they can be qualified to employ the firefighting buckets to extinguish them. Photo by Pfc. Andrew Valenza, Joint Force Headquarters.

FRONT COVER: Soldiers of the New York Army National Guard setup barriers of sandbags May 18, 2017 around homes along the Lake Ontario in Kendall, N.Y. when flooding resulted in a May 2 state of emergency. National Guard members have filled nearly one www.dmna.ny.gov million sandbags. See our story on page 12. Photo by Staff Sgt. Ryan Campbell, 107th Attack Wing. BACK COVER: Two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from the 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation transport two M119A2 Howitzers to a landing zone during an air assault artillery raid at Fort Drum June 9, 2017. The raid, which was conducted in conjunction with Soldiers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 258th Field Artillery, involved transporting the howitzers to a landing zone then utilizing them to engage a simulated enemy target. Photo by Sgt. Alexander Rector, 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. FACES of the FORCE ‘Lost boy’ Gives Back to America, Joins Air Guard Story by Master Sgt. Catharine Schmidt, 109th Airlift Wing SCOTIA, N.Y. — Thirty years He soon found a job and also ago and 6,000 miles away, Air- obtained his GED. While in Ohio, man 1st Class Francis Andrew Andrew met his wife, Lekeya, who was a seven-year-old “lost boy.” was going to college there but was Andrew was one of about 20,000 from the Albany area. Sudanese children who lost their A year later, Andrew moved families during the country’s civil back to the Albany area with Le- war between ethnic groups and keya where they have been since. regions, which began in 1983 and He started going to Hudson Valley lasted until 2005. Community College and obtained Dubbed “lost boys” by refu- his associate’s degree – another gee workers, Andrew and other goal he never thought he’d have children walked from Sudan to the opportunity to accomplish. He Ethiopia, and then on to Kenya in also talks to his mother, who still search of safety. In 2001, Andrew, lives in South Sudan, frequently. then 21 years old, was among “I worked hard, had a fam- those who made it to the United ily and bought a house,” he said. States and safety. “Things I never thought I would Since then, he’s gotten a college have. When I was in the camp, degree, has a wife and an 11-year we just lived day by day. If you old son, along with a good job made it out today, you hoped for with Delhaize Group, the company tomorrow and then to make it out which operates Hannaford and tomorrow.” Food Lion supermarkets. Because of all the opportunities Airman 1st Class Frances Andrew And in 2016, at the age of 36, he Andrew had once arriving to the joined the New York Air National , he said he wanted to “There are only a few places in the world that can give you Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing here. do something to give back to the opportunities to thrive, and I am lucky to be in this country. “There are only a few places in country that had done so much the world that can give you oppor- for him. I see that as an opportunity to give back.” tunities to thrive, and I am lucky “I want to be able to sit down to be in this country,” Andrew with my son and my grandkids -- Airman 1st Class Frances Andrew, 109th Airlift Wing said. “I see that as an opportunity and tell them stories of what I heart even before joining, so the 109th Airlift Wing’s Command to give back.” achieved and what I did to get Air Force was a perfect fit for him. Support Staff, performing admin- Andrew took his first step on there,” Andrew said. “I don’t like Andrew left for basic training in istrative duties for wing leadership. U.S. soil only a few weeks after the taking things for granted – I try March 2016, and while at school Since joining the 109th, Andrew 9/11 attacks. He and a group of working hard for the things I get.” took on a mentorship role for the said it’s a great place to work. From others were en route to a life they Andrew heard about the 109th younger Airmen he encountered. the recruiter who helped him join, had only dreamed of when the Airlift Wing and the unit missions “I wanted to help them out and Master Sgt. Shawn Keating, to the attacks occurred. to Greenland and Antarctica. motivate them,” he said. “I would cadre in his student flight, and the Andrew said many of the boys “I saw the mission that we do support them – I tried to blend in wing leadership, Andrew is thank- were scared, wondering why they here, and it caught my attention,” but also tried to help them. I look ful for everything. could not escape war. As one of he said. “Being able to go to Ant- at things differently – when I see “It’s a good base - people really the older refugees, Andrew tried arctica is something that I never younger Airmen who are upset, get along here,” he said. “Everyone to comfort them and told them would’ve imagined I could do I always pull them aside. I don’t is open, even the leadership. It’s the to stay strong. The group was growing up in a refugee camp, and like to share my story with too kind of leadership skills that I want grounded in Holland for a couple then now seeing these missions many people, but when it gets to to learn – to have that connection weeks before finally making it to I may be able to go on is another the point that my story can help with people. I’m happy to be here, the United States. milestone for me.” someone else, I’m always open to and I’m hoping that my story will Andrew got settled in Ohio, ar- He also said the Air Force core sharing it with them.” help someone out.” riving with just a change of clothes. values were values he held in his Andrew is now assigned to the

4 GUARD TIMES Engineer mentors team to success in TAG Match Story by Staff Sgt. Michael Davis, 138th Public Affairs Detachment CAMP SMITH TRAINING SITE, CORT- gave to him when he was eight years old: “If Donovan Team Combat Pistol Match. LANDT MANOR, N.Y. – For New York Army you’re going to show someone what you can do, Each event is named in honor of a past National Guard Staff Sgt. Michael Kapela, his first you need to show them how to get it done.” Medal of Honor recipient from New York Army seventh Adjutant General’s marksmanship Kapela was one of 68 service members who National Guard units. competition—known as the “TAG Match” — participated in the 38th Annual “TAG Match” The matches are a mix of both team and was more meaningful than his first. Combat Sustainment Training Exercise here individual timed events that combine three Ten years ago Kapela, who has served in the from June 1-4, 2017. different firing positions, quick movements to Guard for 16 years, won a clean sweep of all the The TAG Match is a 3-day event conducted varying locations and short sprints, all of which events during his first TAG Match as a novice, simulate combat scenarios. and he has competed twice Aside from improved marks- at regional National Guard manship techniques, one of the shooting matches and once benefits to participating in the at the national level. TAG Match is that everyone This year Kapela took from the supporting staff to the top honors in the indi- competitors gets a chance to vidual rifle match and was network with peers outside of also part of the rifle team their military branches. that won first place. Sgt. Michael Ryan, a Soldier Helping the team from with the New York Army Na- his unit, the 152nd Engi- tional Guard’s 827th Horizontal neer Support Company, Engineer Company, has been earn first place in the rifle a part of the TAG Match sup- marksmanship event is port staff in the past and was a what made this time competitor this year. around special, Kapela “The best asset that staff and said. participants come away with is Training for the match Staff Sgt. Michael Kapela, with the 152nd Engineer Support Company waits to fire his the people,” said Ryan. “There’s was an opportunity to M4 carbine during the SGT Henry Johnson Individual Combat Rifle Match as part of Soldiers, Airmen and militia teach marksmanship skills the 38th Annual The Adjutant General’s Combat Sustainment Training Exercise (TAG Match) at Camp Smith Training Site, N.Y., June 3, 2017. Kapela took honors in the rifle competing together; we’ll end while continuing to learn individual rifle match. Photo by Sgt. Harley Jelis, 138th Public Affairs Detachment. up working together and see- new tips and techniques ing each other out there when from other service mem- by the New York Army National Guard to pro- responding to state active duty missions.” bers, Kapela explained. mote excellence in marksmanship training and The collaboration at the TAG Match helps He’s not in it for the trophy or the recogni- offers Soldiers and Airmen the opportunity to to build relationships among competitors, tion; he’s in it to help the next generation of test their skills and weapon systems in a battle- while the peer instruction and coaching allows Soldiers, Kapela added. focused environment. Soldiers to hone their craft and bring new “There are 101 theories out there on how to Members of the New York Naval Militia and knowledge to their units. be a great shooter, but not everything will work the New York Guard, the state’s volunteer self- “The TAG Match trains Soldiers to first gain for you,” Kapela said. “It’s about trying and defense force, are also invited to participate in individual proficiency and then gauge profi- implementing new tips until you get it right, the competition. ciency in others,” said Maj. Christopher Cul- and that’s what the TAG Match gives you an These skills and techniques are forged during pepper, the officer-in-charge of the TAG Match opportunity to do.” four high-tempo and high-pressure marksman- and deputy operations officer of the 53rd Troop Kapela has a significant amblyopia (lazy eye) ship events, each designed to test the knowl- Command. “This is an important skill that and that would deter most people from pursu- edge of weapon systems and accuracy during improves every level of the organization from ing both a hobby and profession that relies battle-like conditions. the individual Soldier to the unit and ultimately heavily on ocular accuracy. But he said it only The four advanced marksmanship events are the New York National Guard.” strengthened his resolve to learn and try even the Sgt. Henry Johnson Individual Combat Ri- The overall match champion, based on harder. fle Match, the Sgt. Reidar Waaler Team Combat a summary of scoring across all categories, Kapela said he uses the mantra that his fa- Rifle Match, the Sgt. Thomas Baker Individual were Soldiers of the New York Army National ther, a 35-year Army veteran combat engineer, Combat Pistol Match, and the Lt. Col. William Guard’s 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry.

Spring 2017 5 Veterans Advocate Competes in Best Ranger Story by Eric Durr, Guard Times Staff NEW YORK - At an age when many infantry- me would I like to compete,” Smith recalled. “I The teams know most of the events ahead of men start to think about retirement, New York jumped at the opportunity. I enjoy testing myself time, but there are “mystery events” designed Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Sean Smith to my limits.” to test the Rangers’ ability to deal with the un- decided to tackle the Army’s premier physical The event is open to all Ranger qualified Sol- known. Winning is based on points --with some and mental challenge instead. diers. The 62 hours of events include runs, road events worth more than others--so strategy is Smith, 40, the mortar platoon sergeant of marches, map reading, grenade tossing, shoot- involved in the competition as well. the 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry, entered and ing, the Darby Queen Obstacle course, including Smith, said 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry completed the Army’s 34th annual Best Ranger swimming and water obstacles. The competitors Command Sgt. Major Arnold Reyes, was asked Competition, a 62-hour, physically grueling also carry 60-pound loads for most of the events. to enter because he was qualified to meet that event testing Ranger School graduates’ skills and Competitors are matched in two-Ranger challenge. endurance. The average competitor age is 28. teams. The National Guard enters four teams “He is definitely a stellar NCO. In everything “My first sergeant came to me and he asked each year and a Guard team won the 2016 event. he does he is a true professional,” Reyes said. “He is very quiet, very professional. He is not a boaster, not a ‘Hey look at me,’ guy, but he goes all out,” said 27th Brigade Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Ciampollilo. Smith’s first step toward the Best Ranger finish was an Army National Guard assessment of competitors at Fort Benning in November 2016. So Smith, a veterans advocate in Rochester, and president of ROCovery Fitness, an alcohol and drug addiction recovery program, started training. He focused on high intensity strength train- ing, running, and road marching with a heavy load. He also did some swimming, some biking, and “just multiple events and training methods.” “Working two jobs made it hard, so I got it in when I could, probably a couple of days a week,” Smith recalled. The Best Ranger Assessment consisted of 24 hours of non-stop activity. “They had us do a Ranger PT test (run five miles, two minutes of push-ups and sit-ups and at least six pull-ups). They had us do an equip- ment run. They had us do an obstacle course. They had us do some Ranger first responder medical tasks,” Smith remembered. There was also climbing, rappelling, land navigation, and a road march. “It was 30-some miles of walking and running just for the assessment over a 24-hour period,” Smith said. The next leg on Smith’s trip to the Best Ranger finish line was a stop at Army Airborne School. Smith graduated from Ranger School in 2013, but he had never been to jump school. Since there was a chance one of the mystery events Sgt. 1st Class Sean Smith from the 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry negotiates the Darby Queen could involve parachuting, he needed to get obstacle course during the 34th annual David E. Grange Jr. Best Ranger Competition at Ft. airborne qualified. Benning, Ga. on April 9. Photo by Spc. Justin Collins. Best Ranger Continued on Next Page

6 GUARD TIMES Best Ranger Continued that event,” he explained. got 40 minutes of sleep the first night and an After finishing Airborne School, Smith had a The training was hard and tough, and Smith hour the second night--was to ignore the signals few more weeks with his very patient fiancée in injured his calf muscle three days before the the body sends saying it is time to stop, Smith Rochester, Yana Khashper. Then it was back to competition kicked off on April 7. said. Fort Benning in mid-January to train until April. That came back to haunt him, Smith said. As one of the oldest competitors, Smith said The nine guard Soldiers worked out twice “Any event that consisted of running, for me he felt driven. “I wanted to prove my worth. a day and Smith was teamed up with Sgt. 1st was a little difficult, because I did have a calf Prove I deserved to be there,” he said. Class Jesse Volk, a member of the Texas Army injury,” he recalled. When the 62 hours wound down at 2 p.m. National Guard’s 19th Special Forces Group. “During a five-mile run I got to mile three and on April 9, with a final buddy run, Smith and “It’s really important that you get matched up my calf felt like it was going to snap. My partner Volk were still going, finishing at 18 out of 21 with the right guy,” Smith said. “In our case we turned to me and he said ‘How much further finishing teams. Fifty-two teams had started the were very similar but there were things he was are you going to be able to go on that?’ I said, competition. better at and things I was better at.” ‘I don’t know, maybe about five miles,’” Smith “You can always be better than what you think The partners push each other and motivate remembered. you are capable of. Continually test yourself and each other, Smith said. “It was a real gut check,” he said. “You get to a push yourself.” And even more importantly, “At different points one guy is kinda dragging point, it is mind over body really.” “your body will do whatever your mind tells you and the other guy gives him the motivation he The key to making it through the 62 hours of to do. And when you need to lean on your team- needs to push through and make it through almost continual physical activity--participants mate, do that,” Smith said. Long Road to Graduation Pays Off Story by Eric Durr, Gaurd Times Staff ALBANY, N.Y.--Chief Warrant Sherman started taking college Officer 3 Doug Sherman started classes at night at the University of his college education in 1979. He South Carolina as a young Marine. finished Saturday, June 3, 2017. The he joined the Army and spent Sherman, age 56, the warrant four years in Germany during the officer recruiter for the Recruiting 1980s and took classes there. and Retention Battalion graduated But when he left the Army, life with a degree in business manage- happened and he didn’t pursue ment and economics from Empire college again. State College. “A lot of life happened in all It took three years of late nights those spaces. It never seemed to be and long weekends to finish what the right time for me to sit down he had started as an 18-year old and focus on my education,” Sher- Marine Corps recruit, Sherman man said. said, but it was worth it. In 2002 he joined the Army When he leaves the Army his Reserve in Florida as an MP and goal is to teach Junior ROTC, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Douglas Sherman, left, poses along with two then he went to . He other veterans, during his graduation from Empire State College on Sherman said. To do that he needs moved to New York, joined the June 3, 2017 in Albany, N.Y. Sherman graduated after three years of a degree. National Guard, night and weekend classes. Courtesy photo. So he decided to use the Post He entered the warrant officer and it gave him credit for his war- “Towards the very end, there 9/11 GI Bill education benefit he’d program in 2009 and deployed to rant officer training course and the were nights when I was up until earned through two Afghanistan Afghanistan again with the 27th basic non-commissioned officer midnight, “he said. “Finishing my deployments—and some federal Infantry Brigade in 2012. course, as well as other training, last paper I could barely keep my military education aid-- and get In 2014 he decided it was time Sherman said. eyes open, but I kept telling myself that degree, even though most stu- to do something about getting The school is a mix of on-line the finish line is really close.” dents working on their four-year that college degree so he enrolled education, meeting with professors In the end, it was all worth it, degree are under 25. in Empire State College. The State and weekend classes, he said. Sherman said. “I wanted to pursue this op- University of New York school He started with 50 credits, but it “I want to let people know there portunity,” Sherman said. “My specializes in adult and non-tradi- still took a lot of long hours to do are opportunities that we should working life will be well into my tional college students. the work of learning college level take advantage of,” Sherman said. late 60’s.” The school is military friendly math and English.

Spring 2017 7 AROUND THE STATE

MP service paves way for law enforcement career Story by Staff Sgt. Michael Davis, 138th Public Affairs Detachment

CAMP SMITH TRAINING SITE, CORTLANDT MANOR, N.Y. – When Sgt. Joseph Selchick was just a boy, he would always dress up for Halloween as either an Army Soldier or a police officer and pretend to save his neighbors from danger. Almost two decades later, he now wears both uniforms as a profes- sional Guardsman and Deputy Sheriff doing just that. Selchick, a nine-year military police officer with the 727th Law & Order Detachment, New York Army National Guard, graduated from the sheriff’s academy on June 23, 2017, and is now a Deputy Sheriff with the Rockland County Sheriff’s Department. After waiting four years for the next available civil service exam, Selchick scored a 90 percent in 2012, a grade which would have allowed him to take a position sooner but in a community farther from home. So he waited for the right opportunity to serve locally. Born and raised in Rockland County, Selchick said he felt obligated to protect those people he’s seen and known his entire life. “There’s nothing better than being able to protect your home – where you grew up,” Selchick said. The 20-week long academy, which was staffed by former Marines, Army Rangers, Special Forces and former FBI agents, wasn’t as daunting Army National Guard Sgt. Joseph Selchick, a military police Soldier for Selchick as it was for some of the other recruits. with the 727th Military Police Law and Order Detachment, applied his military skills and experience to graduate from the Rockland County Selchick credits his Army National Guard training with not only feel- Police and Public Safety Academy in Pomona, June 23, 2017. Selchick ing more confident when preparing for the academy, but also with the credits his military service for providing a foundation of experience for skills and experience needed to excel. his success at the academy. Courtesy photo. “Seventy-five percent of the academy was shooting, car stops, and cuffing,” said Selchick. “I’ve not only been trained on these tasks, but I’ve actually done all of them in the Guard; I had a huge advantage.” In 2014, Selchick was participating in his summer Annual Training, conducting law enforcement at West Point Military Academy, when he made three felony arrests. He was awarded a challenge coin by Brig. Gen. Michael Swezey, former commander of the 53rd Troop Command, in recognition of his work. Despite all of his experience and accolades, there was still plenty of room to learn new techniques. “My favorite part was being on the range and learning to shoot from different angles…on our backs and even through our legs,” said Selchick. “You can never get enough training.” He’s not keeping that new training to himself. Selchick was in touch with his unit throughout his time at the academy and has already coordi- nated a training plan to teach his new skills to other Soldiers. Taking this new training back to my unit will help make us more effec- tive in domestic and deployed environments, Selchick said. “My advice to anyone who wants to become a police officer is to join Rockland County Sheriff Louis Falco, left, and Chief of Patrol William the Guard first,” said Selchick. “I know that it’s made me a better officer Barbera, right, congratulate New York Army National Guard Sgt. Joseph and it will definitely help them, too.” Selchick on his completion of the Rockland County Police and Public Safety Academy in Pomona, New York on June 23, 2017.

8 GUARD TIMES Stone True: Rededication Honors Rainbow Soldier Story and photo by Col. Richard Goldenberg, Joint Force Headquarters ALBANY, N.Y. — For 69 years, Division in the front lines with the gravestone of Army Pfc. Sil- the division just days before the vio Campanella, killed in France onslaught on New Year’s Day. serving in the 42nd Infantry Di- In January 1945 his unit, Com- vision during World War II, had pany A, 232nd Infantry Regiment, the wrong date of his death. was defending a French village Veterans and current members called Sessenheim without tanks of the famed “Rainbow Division” or artillery support. gathered at St. Agnes Cemetery It was a close quarter fight of here June 14 to correct that date small infantry units. Small pockets -- changing it from January 31 to of Soldiers found themselves sur- January 19, 1945 -- and tell the rounded and overwhelmed. story of Campanella’s death which “Campanella and his fellow G.I.s had been secret for a generation. fought bravely, but their rifles and Campanella and the Rainbow hand grenades were no match for were caught up in a vicious defen- Nazi tanks,” Chaisson said. “Those sive battle against a German attack tanks began destroying Sessen- Retired New York Army National Guard Maj. Patrick Chaisson gives called Operation Nordwind in remarks during the rededication of a WWII headstone for Pfc. Silvio heim house by house.” southern France. It was a compan- Campanella at the St. Agnes Cemetery in Albany, N.Y. June 14, 2017. Campanella found himself with Soldiers of the 42nd Infantry Division Headquarters provided colors ion attack to the famous Battle of 18-20 other Soldiers as German and honors for the Rainbow Division Veterans Foundation memorial the Bulge in Belgium. prisoners on January 19, 1945. ceremony. Below, Pfc. Campanella before his deployment to France. Campanella was one of the 42nd “The Germans commenced to Soldiers who tried to stop that German captor fired on the seven, his lines and move in from all sides. At approxi- attack, although he wasn’t killed killing him and five others. made a full mately 11:30, I gave the order to in action. He was shot while a “Several of these dead Soldiers recovery and surrender,” wrote Staff Sgt. James prisoner of the German Army. were hastily buried by French report. Nichols, also from Company A in “What brings us together here is civilians in the village of Sessen- With his previously classified report of our need to pay a debt of gratitude heim. Their remains were later investigators September 1945. to an all but forgotten Soldier. We recovered by the U.S. Army, but ... unable to But the entire group would not also feel the need to set things the Army recorded the date they identify the find their way to a prisoner of war right – as right as we can – to were found – January 31st – not unit or enemy personnel involved, camp. In the midst of the battle, honor him,” said retired Army the actual day they were killed – it remained unsolved and unpros- the Germans sought retribution Major Patrick Chaisson, historian January 19th,” Chaisson said. ecuted after the war. for what they believed was the kill- for the Rainbow Division Veterans Campanella’s remains were “George Sotak carried in his ing of one of their unit medics. Foundation, which provided the reinterred in Albany in 1948 with heart the memories of that awful Sgt. Gerald O’Brien of Company new grave marker. the incorrect date. day for decades,” Chaisson said. A described what happened in his “Well, we are correcting a mis- “That’s the simple explanation, Sotek’s account was published September 1945 statement: take that was made almost 70 years but nothing in life is ever this in 2015, inspiring two daughters “I saw a German officer mak- ago,” Chaisson said. simple,” Chaisson said. of other WWII Rainbow veterans ing a lot of threatening gestures Joining Chaisson were members One Soldier captured with – Suellen McDaniel and Kathy and heard him yelling about the of a color guard from the 42nd Di- Campanella survived. He was Pvt. Hemard – to research the incident, shooting of a German medic by vision in Troy, along with serving George Sotak and he left this ac- and arrange for new headstones, Americans. Then the German Rainbow members and veterans. count in a letter to fellow veteran Chaisson said. officer pulled seven more men Campanella family members, Sam Polis in February 1946: “What happened to Campanella out of the group and sent them up including his surviving sister, “There was a burst of fire and I and his fellow GI’s at Sessenheim the street; they went up the street Yolanda Campanella Robilotto, found myself flat on the ground. I is an atrocity, an obscenity,” Chais- and that is the last I saw of them,” also took part in the event. knew I was hit but wasn’t hurting,” son said. “That is war. Yet there is O’Brien recounted. Silvio Campanella, born in 1923 Sotak wrote. honor in service. We all can find One of those seven men was in Albany, deployed in Decem- Sotak played dead with wounds some connection to this young Silvio Campanella and his fate was ber 1944, arriving with the 42nd to his left shoulder, lung and arm. man, who sacrificed his life for sealed that afternoon when his After dark, he escaped back to freedom over seventy years ago.”

Spring 2017 9 Army Guard Promotions

Sergeant Promoted to Staff Sergeant Chief Warrant Officer 3 Promoted to Chief Warrant Officer 4

BARNES LAILA DET 1 DIV SIGNAL CO 42ND ID KUNZER ROBERT INTEL & SUST CO 42ND ID (-) BLAKE PAUL 222D CHEMICAL COMPANY POLIS STEPHEN CO B 3-142D AVIATION CABA EDWIN HHC 1-69TH INFANTRY YOUNG THOMAS HHC 369TH SUST BDE CHONG ARCHANA CO B 101ST SIGNAL BN DOLSON DOUGLAS ARNG STAFF ELEMENT JFHQ-NY COOLEY CHRISTOPHER HHC 2-108TH INFANTRY CREECY RICHARD DET 1 OPS CO 42ND ID DIDOMENICO DAVID CO B (-) RECRUITNG & RETENTION Chief Warrant Officer 4 Promoted to Chief Warrant Officer 5 DONALDSON ARON 10TH MOUNTAIN DIV (MCP-OD) DZHURAYEV ALEXANDER DET 1 DIV SIGNAL CO 42ND ID HENNESSY KENNETH ARNG STAFF ELEMENT JFHQ-NY HIGGINS CRAIG HQ 153RD TRP CMD (BDE) BOCHENSKI STEPHEN CO A (-) 642D SUPPORT BN HINMAN MATTHEW DET 2 INTEL & SUST CO 42ND ID IGLOPAS DANICABLANCA 107TH MP COMPANY LANDERS NICHOLAS INTEL & SUST CO 42ND ID (-) Newly Commissioned 2nd Lieutenant MCLEAN JOSHUA 2ND CIVIL SUPPORT TEAM (WMD) MERCADO WILFREDO CO C 101ST SIGNAL BN ODAR LUIS CO C 101ST SIGNAL BN RIBAR MICHAEL A CO(ENG)BSTB 27TH IN BDE(BCT) POLOKHALO DMYTRO INTEL & SUST CO 42ND ID (-) RUCKER EDWARD HQ & SPT CO 42ND ID (-) VISGAUSS RYAN HHC 1-69TH INFANTRY SCISM ROBERTA ARNG STAFF ELEMENT JFHQ-NY CARTER ANDREW HHC 101ST SIGNAL BN SHERMAN JOSHUA HHT 2-101 CAV (RSTA) SUSANA JAMES USA CYBER PROTECTION TEAM 173 SWENSON RONALD HQ & SPT CO 42ND ID (-) First Lieutenant Promoted to Captain WIELAND SETH CO B (-) RECRUITNG & RETENTION

Staff Sergeant Promoted to Sergeant 1st Class CORCORAN JAMES H & S CO 204 ENGR BN CROSS NATHANIEL HSC 642D SUPPORT BN DOYLE MICHAEL HHB 1-258TH FIELD ARTILLERY DOYLE TRAVIS 14TH FINANCE DET BRENNAN JAMES CO C (-) RECRUITNG & RETENTION HEINTZ THOMAS 133RD QUARTERMASTER SP CO CHARD AMANDA ARNG STAFF ELEMENT JFHQ-NY LOVE ZACHARY CO C (MED) 427TH BSB DAVIS ANDREW OPS CO 42ND ID (-) MILLMAN JACK 27TH INF (BCT) DORVEE JEFFREY CO E (FSC INF) 427TH BSB MORYL JOSEPH HQ & SPT CO 42ND ID (-) GUZMAN MILTON HQ & SPT CO 42ND ID (-) PARK MICHAEL HHC 369TH SUST BDE HARRIS ERICA INTEL & SUST CO 42ND ID (-) PIPIA TARA HQS 106TH REGIMENT (RTI) HAWKINS CONOR ARNG STAFF ELEMENT JFHQ-NY PONCE EDWIN HQS 106TH REGIMENT (RTI) MANHART ERIN HQ 153RD TRP CMD (BDE) SAHLSTROM ADAM HHC 369TH SUST BDE MANNARA RICHARD CO C (-) RECRUITNG & RETENTION SATTELBERG ERIC ARNG STAFF ELEMENT JFHQ-NY MASCI RICHARD HHD 104TH MILITARY POLICE BN THRUSH FOREST HHC(-) 3-142D AVIATION MCBRIDE TIMOTHY DET 2 OPS CO 42ND ID TOSI JOSHUA HHC 369TH SUST BDE MICHEL GLINORY DET 1 DIV SIGNAL CO 42ND ID WIEDENBAUM ALEXANDRIA 466TH MEDICAL CO AREA SPT MILLER BENJAMIN HHC 2-108TH INFANTRY YANG YANRONG HHC 369TH SUST BDE MISNER DANIEL A CO(ENG)BSTB 27TH IN BDE(BCT) AMENDOLA STEVEN HQ & SPT CO 42ND ID (-) MOORE JOSEPH HQS 106TH REGIMENT (RTI) MUNSON JOHN CO C (-) RECRUITNG & RETENTION ORBE KEVIN CO D 1-69TH INFANTRY PERRY RICHARD DET 1 DIV SIGNAL CO 42ND ID Captain Promoted to Major REED DARYL CO A 1-69TH INFANTRY SUMMERS ROBERT ARNG STAFF ELEMENT JFHQ-NY SZABO SCOTT DET 1 827TH ENGR CO HORIZ VANNESS MICHELE ARNG STAFF ELEMENT JFHQ-NY BARNEY GARY HQ & SPT CO 42ND ID (-) WESSELS ROBERT CAMP SMITH TRAINING SITE (-) BOJARSKI ADAM 10TH MOUNTAIN DIV (MCP-OD) YOU DAVID CO G (FSC FA) 427TH BSB COSSEY JASON 466TH MEDICAL CO AREA SPT DANNA BRYAN MEDICAL COMMAND ELLIOTT AARON HHT 2-101 CAV (RSTA) Sergeant 1st Class Promoted to Master Sergeant GREEN BETHANY HHC COMBAT AVN BDE GREENE JAMES HHC 369TH SUST BDE HARDER JOHN HQ 53D TRP CMD HOFFMAN BRYAN DET 2 OPS CO 42ND ID BLASS MICHAEL ARNG STAFF ELEMENT JFHQ-NY HUERTA EMANUEL DET 1 DIV SIGNAL CO 42ND ID COLLITON DAVID DET 1 DIV SIGNAL CO 42ND ID JOHANNESSEN THOR DET 2 OPS CO 42ND ID CONNELL ALACIA HHC 427TH BSB MILES FREDERICK HHC 369TH SUST BDE ERICKSEN JASON HHB 1-258TH FIELD ARTILLERY PASTO TIMOTHY DET 1 OPS CO 42ND ID SQUIRES MICHAEL ARNG STAFF ELEMENT JFHQ-NY TILLISTRAND MICHAEL DET 2 OPS CO 42ND ID Master Sergeant Promoted to Sergeant Major YOUNG MARTIN HQ & SPT CO 42ND ID (-) BENNETT APRIL HHC BSTB 27TH IN BDE (-) (BCT)

FISHER JOSEPH HQS 106TH REGIMENT (RTI) Major Promoted to Lieutenant MACKAY DUNCAN CO A (-) RECRUITNG & RETENTION WATERS ROBERT DET 1 OPS CO 42ND ID CLAUS JOSEPH ARNG STAFF ELEMENT JFHQ-NY Newly Commissioned Warrant Officers EHLER SCOTT ARNG STAFF ELEMENT JFHQ-NY HAFFNER MICHAEL ARNG STAFF ELEMENT JFHQ-NY MCNITT DAGE DET 1 NYARNG ELEMENT JFHQ RICHICHI JOHN CO A 3-142D AVIATION WHALEY JOSEPH DET 1 OPS CO 42ND ID CRONIN CHRISTOPHER 27TH INF (BCT) Chief Warrant Officer 2 Promoted to Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lieutenant Colonel Promoted to Colonel BURCKHARD RANDY ARNG STAFF ELEMENT JFHQ-NY COKER CHRISTOPHER HHC 369TH SUST BDE COMSTOCK RYAN DET 2 CO A 1-224 AVN S&S BN MULVEY JUDE HQ & SPT CO 42ND ID (-) DELSIGNORE JOHN CO A 3-142D AVIATION MURPHY MICHAEL HQ & SPT CO 42ND ID (-) DUKES NAKIA INTEL & SUST CO 42ND ID (-) PANZER CHRISTOPHER ARNG STAFF ELEMENT JFHQ-NY FERNANDEZ CHRISTOPHER HHC 369TH SUST BDE LYNESS JEFFREY HQ 153RD TRP CMD (BDE) MUNZ CHRISTOPHER HHC(-) 3-142D AVIATION PAPPERT RICHARD HSC 642D SUPPORT BN QUACKENBUSH MATTHIAS CO A 3-142D AVIATION SALVI WILLIAM HHC 369TH SUST BDE SPANTON STEPHANIE ARNG STAFF ELEMENT JFHQ-NY BETRON CLIFTON ARNG STAFF ELEMENT JFHQ-NY Army Guard Promotions Air Guard Promotions

Staff Sergeant Promoted to Technical Sergeant Newly Commissioned 2nd Lieutenant

ADAMS, CHADERTON R 105 WG BEAL, DANIEL JOSEPH 174 WG ANDERSON, CONNIE JEAN 109 WG BRUNO, SAMANTHA JOANN 174 WG BLANDINO, ARGELIS MANUEL 106 WG CHAKURMANIAN, NICHOLAS 109 WG BORRELLI, MATTHEW JOHN 152 WG CHATHAM, IVAN RAY 107 WG BOVAY, ANTHONY MARK 174 WG DUNCAN, DOUGLAS JONATHAN 106 WG BULGER, SHAWN JEFFREY 174 WG GERMAN, ZACHARY ANDREW 174 WG CATAPANO, DANIEL JOSEPH 106 WG GROSS, JOSEPH B 107 WG CORNELL, SCOTT A 105 WG GUAGENTI, JONATHAN P 105 WG CRISPELL, RAYMOND EDWARD 105 WG HUGHES, CHRISTOPHER JOHN 107 WG CRUZ, ANDREW ROBERT 106 WG MADDEN, JONATHAN WILLIAM 109 WG FIELD, DREW OWEN AIR OPS MCELROY, MATTHEW JOSEPH 107 WG FITZSIMMONS, JOSEPH A 105 WG MORGAN, TIMOTHY MICHAEL 107 WG GINALSKI, MICHAEL PATRICK 109 WG MURPHY, BRANDON PETER 106 WG GOODRIDGE, MARCUS M 105 WG NAPOLITANO, NICHOLAS ELIA 106 WG GRILLO, NICHOLAS VINCENT 174 WG OEHLBECK, JASON 107 WG HEALEY, SABRENA LYNN 109 WG PAUL, JACK LENDKY 107 WG KETCHAKEU, COME NASSER 109 WG PETERSON, NANCY LYNN AIR DEFENSE KLEBLEYEV, SERGEY 106 WG PIGEON, WALTER ANDREW 174 WG LOCKE, ROBERT MILLARD II 174 WG POLSTER, JORDAN NICOLE 106 WG MCCONNELL, WILLIAM DOUGLAS 174 WG ROBITAILLE, LUIS LEE 109 WG MCLENNAN, ELIZABETH KATHLEEN 174 WG MORGAN, JORDAN ROY 174 WG PALACIOS, PAOLA ANDREA 106 WG 2nd Lieutenant Promoted to 1st Lieutenant PALUDI, JOSEPH RONALD 109 WG QUAMMIE, BRENDON A 105 WG QUEZADA, MICHAEL 105 WG REILLY, DEVIN DOUGLAS 109 WG ENGELL, CHANTAL KATHLEEN 174 WG REITH, BRIAN MICHAEL 109 WG GARCIA, LUZ L 105 WG RENE, JOSEPH MONTAGUE 106 WG JORDAN, DAMIKA 105 WG SCHMITT, DANIEL PATRICK AIR DEFENSE KOWALSKI, CHRISTOPHER J 105 WG SEVERS, BRYAN TODD AIR DEFENSE OBRIEN, SEAN WILLIAM 174 WG STARK, JASON GERHART 109 WG RENART, PAUL MICHAEL 106 WG SULLIVAN, DANIEL SHANE 174 WG TANDY, TARA COLLEEN 106 WG TRUSCELLO, LAURENCE ANTHONY 109 WG VANDERCREEK, MATTHEW L 107 WG 1st Lieutenant Promoted to Captain WALTERS, JEFFREY ROBERT JR 107 WG WESTLUND, NELSSON J 105 WG WILIAMA, KEONA 105 WG BENJAMIN, PHILIP DOUGLAS 174 WG WILLIS, CHAD MICHAEL 174 WG COONEY, PATRICK THOMAS AIR OPS WOOD, BARRY CHARLES 106 WG COOPER HENRY, MAAJO LIN 174 WG ESTEY, ERIC SHEPHERD 106 WG HANLEY, MARTIN WILLIAM 107 WG HUGHES, STUART FRANKLIN 106 WG Technical Sergeant Promoted to Master Sergeant JACOBSEN, SALEM KENNETH 109 WG LYONS, KRISTIE LEE 106 WG MALDONADO , SETH J 107 WG BORNT, PATRICK ROBERT 109 WG PYJAS, JAMES R 105 WG CARROLL, PAULA LYNN 174 WG RANDAZZO, TINA M 107 WG CLEMENTI, SHANNON LEEANN 106 WG RINALDI, MATTHEW CARLO 109 WG DICHIARA, DANIEL JOSEPH 105 WG VANPATTEN, RICHARD JAMES 109 WG GALLEGOS, TRENA ANGELINA 107 WG VANREIL, NATASHA JOANN 105 WG HUSSAR, MICHAEL P 107 WG VINSON, BRITTANY BROWN 106 WG JONES, RAMON 105 WG WALTON, ADAM ROBERT 174 WG KING, MORRIS PAUL III 109 WG LARUE, STEVEN CHARLES 174 WG MADISON, ROBERT JAMES 109 WG Captain Promoted to Major MCCLOWRY, MARK PATRICK 174 WG MCDERMOTT, KELLY A 105 WG MODERACKI, JOZEF M 107 WG MOYNIHAN, JAMES DOUGLAS 107 WG BENZA, MATTHEW S 105 WG PAULDINE, MARK ANDREW 174 WG FORRESTER, ROBERT M 105 WG PEREZ, ALEX G 105 WG GRAY, MICHAEL A 107 WG POTTER, KYLE JEFFREY 174 WG SEGRETI, BENJAMIN G 105 WG ROTT, PHILIP J 107 WG STAHLHUT, MICHAEL THOMAS 106 WG SPADAVECCHIA, JOSEPH ANTHONY 106 WG WETTIG, SEAN MICHAEL 109 WG STUCKER, SETH LEE 107 WG TARBY, JAMES ALLEN JR 174 WG VALENTINE, FELICIA M 109 WG Major Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel WOLFE, JACOB ALLEN 174 WG WU, COREY J 106 WG CARLSON, JAN R 107 WG CARRERA, JORGE L 105 WG Master Sgt. Promoted to Sr. Master Sergeant DEMASO, LEWIS A 105 WG PAUTLER, JUSTIN H 107 WG PICCOLO, MARGARET 106 WG BRODY, JAMES JOSEPH 174 WG PULLEN, JEREMY E 105 WG COUCH, ELLIS JOSEPH JR 106 WG WEBBER, STEPHEN LAWRENCE 106 WG FRENCH, TOBY LEE 152 WG KEMPISTY, JOHN JOSEPH 174 WG LAROCK, COREY MATTHEW 174 WG Lieutenant Colonel Promoted to Colonel LENT, ERIC JASON D 174 WG PACE, ASHLEY ANN 174 WG PANIS, JESSICA MARIE 109 WG ROOTE, DARLA JEAN AIR OPS DONALDSON, ROBERT EDWIN 109 WG SUPON, MICHAEL A 107 WG HUTSON, CATHERINE ANNE 174 WG WINTERS, SALEEM B 107 WG LUJAN, ANTHONY ANDREW 107 WG ROHATSCH, LINDA A 105 WG STALLONE, MARTIN 174 WG Sr. Master Sergeant Promoted to Chief Master Sgt. WARNICK, DAVID M 107 WG

DEJESUS, VICTOR 105 WG DEVITO, KAROLYN ANN 109 WG FRASCIELLO, HELEN MARIAN 174 WG HARMEYER, CHRISTOPHER JAMES 174 WG JONES, JOHN ANTHONY 174 WG THE JOINT FORCE

Troops Hold Back Great Lake with 978,111 Sandbags Story by Eric Durr, Guard Times staff LATHAM, N.Y. — Over 440 New York Working out of central locations in eight ernor to declare a state of emergency on May 2. National Guard Soldiers and Airmen, and counties along Lake Ontario’s southern and “With waters on the Lake Ontario coastline members of the Naval Militia and New York eastern shores and the St. Lawrence River, rising to the highest levels in 20 years, we are Guard filled 978,111 sandbags between May members of Joint Task Force Ontario filled an remaining vigilant and will continue to do 3 and June 30 as part of the state response average of 11,721 sandbags per day during the everything in our power to assist communi- to Lake Ontario flooding at the direction of first month of the mission. ties with flooding preparation and response Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. Personnel on duty each day ranged from just measures,” Cuomo said. That’s enough sandbags to cover the distance under 200 to over 300 depending on mission The state made available $7 million in emer- from New York City to Buffalo if they were laid requirements, according to Chief Master Sgt. gency funds for property owners, $10 million to end-to-end. Shawn Peno, chief enlisted advisor in the New repair roads, and $5 million for businesses. The bulk of those employed in the mission York National Guard joint operations section. “We have various missions out here, part have been from the New York Army National Water levels in Lake Ontario are currently of the group is filling sandbags and prepar- Guard, with more 222 Soldiers volunteering to almost three feet higher than last year at this ing them to be sent out into the field,” said Air pull sandbag duty during the past month. time due to heavy rain and snowfall, according National Guard Lt. Col. Ken Kieliszek, a health The Naval Militia fielded 116 Sailors and to the Army Corps of Engineers. services administrator assigned to the 107th Marines to help, while 15 New York Guard The flooding has affected homes, businesses Attack Wing and site commander during a members pitched in. Fifty-four Air National and entire communities and prompted the gov- mission at the Kendall Department of Public Guard Airman took part in the mission.

New York Army National Guard Soldiers emplace sandbag barriers along the Lake Ontario shoreline in Kendall, N.Y., on May 18 after rising water levels resulted in flooding and a state of emergency declared May 2 by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Photo by Staff Sgt. Ryan Campbell, 107th Aiattack Wing.

12 GUARD TIMES New York Army National Guard Soldiers deploy the Tiger Dam flood control system along the shores of Braddock Bay in the Town of Greece, N.Y. in response to rising waters on Lake Ontario. The system consists of flexible fabric tubes which are connected and filled with water. The tubes replace sandbags as a flood control mechanism. Photo by Sgt. Lucian McCarty, Joint Force Headquarters.

Works. “We have also had teams going out into the field and building break walls.” The work has been strenuous, yet vital to limiting the amount of damage done by the flooding lake. It is a role that the Airmen of the 107th have fully embraced. “There’s no complaints and no is- sues,” said Kieliszek. “They are proud to be here and proud to serve their country and New York State.” Soldiers also emplaced a high-tech water-dam system known as a Tiger Dam along Braddock Bay in the Town of Greece. The system uses large tubes filled with water to replace many sandbags and can be placed in just over an hour. Soldiers from the Army National Guard’s 642nd Aviation Support Battal- ion, the 105th Military Police Company, the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and 427th Forward Support Battalion have supported the mission, along with members of the New York Air National New York Army National Guard 105th Military Police Company Soldiers construct a sandbag barrier to Guard’s 107th Attack Wing and 174th protect property at Sodus Point, N.Y. from flooding due to rising waters on Lake Ontario on May 22. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Belmont, 105th Military Police Company. Attack Wing.

Spring 2017 13 Emergency-Response Training in Ardent Sentry 17 Story and photo by Master Sgt. Raymond Drumsta, 42nd Infantry Divisiont TROY, N.Y. — The New York National Guard tested it’s emergency-response planning skills in Ardent Sentry 17, a national-level emergency response staff exercise at locations throughout the northeast from April 24-28. About 80 New York National Guard staff troops took part in the exercise, which was based around a scenario involving a nuclear detonation on the New Jersey side of the Lin- coln Tunnel. The personnel manned command posts at 42nd Infantry Division headquarters here and New York National Guard headquar- ters in Latham, N.Y. Ardent Sentry is an annual U.S. Northern Command (US NORTHCOM) exercise focused on defense support to civil authorities. Federal, state and local officials, including New York State emergency managers and the New York City Office of Emergency Management, also took part in the exercise. Federal Emergency Management Agency and Army North person- nel set up operations centers at New York New York Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Michael Giarrusso, a 42nd Infantry Division National Guard headquarters as part of the operations NCO (left), and Staff Sgt. Diahann Adepegba, a division intelligence NCO in-charge, training exercise. map out a 10-mile radius of a simulated nuclear blast area during Ardent Sentry 17 on April 26. The New York Army National Guard’s 42nd COM and other personnel, augmented the LaBarge gave the DSC staff high marks. The Infantry Division provided the core of staff per- 42nd Division troops to make up the DSC staff. exercise kicked off with the nuclear detonation, sonnel for New York’s part in Ardent Sentry. “That fills out that brain-trust trying to make and the staff began generating intelligence and The staff personnel, who would fall under sense out of the fog of war accompanying this other information products “mere hours after a construct called the “dual-status command” catastrophe,” LaBarge said. the blast,” LaBarge said. during an actual disaster, used the exercise to During the exercise, DSC staff continually “Information is going to be challenging,” practice marshalling simulated forces. performed command tasks such as receiving LaBarge stressed. “You have to keep asking the At the top of this construct is the Dual-Status reports, updating and assessing information same questions to make sure we’re all acting Commander (DSC), a National Guard officer and using simulated forces to provide a scaled from the same information starting-point.” authorized to command both National Guard response to the disaster. The other big lesson - which speaks to unity and federal military forces. “We simply look for a capability and try to of effort, and unity of command, LaBarge The concept is intended to foster greater resource it from whatever forces we have out stressed, - is “don’t be parochial.” cooperation among federal and state assets. The there,” LaBarge explained. “Everybody is trying “Our job is not to fight for our parochial New York National Guard stood up a DSC in to help. The whole purpose of this is to achieve interests, but to get resources there to save lives 2012 during the response to Superstorm Sandy. unity of effort.” and prevent suffering,” LaBarge said. The DSC for the April exercise was Air National Guard Brig. Gen. Timothy LaBarge. Army Guard Director Meets Empire Shield An event like the one the exercise scenario was based on would be “the worst day in U.S. his- NEW YORK-- Lt. Gen. Timothy Kadavy, the tory,” he said. Director of the Army National Guard meets Soldiers assigned to Joint Task Force Empire “It’s going to take the whole of the govern- Shield, a state active duty force providing ment, and the whole of society, to address it,” security at New York City transportation hubs stressed LaBarge, who is also the New York Air prior to the broadcasting of a segment of the National Guard chief of staff. Fox and Friends morning television show on May 21, 2017. Kadavy was outlining his vision Soldiers and Airmen from Joint Force Head- for the Army National Guard and also saluted quarters and field units, along with NORTH- the members of the task force. Courtesy photo.

14 GUARD TIMES No Walk in the Park: 2nd CST Trains at Joe Bruno Story and photos by Master Sgt. Raymond Drumsta, 42nd Infantry Divisiont

TROY, N.Y. — It was another day and another conspicuous venue for members of the New York National Guard’s 2nd Civil Support Team (CST) as they trained to track down and identify hazards at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium here on April 12. About a dozen members of the 2nd CST participated in the training exercise, which was based on a scenario involving a clandes- tine laboratory at the stadium with potential weapons of mass destruction. Team members are trained to identify chemical, biological, and radiological agents and advise first-responders on how to deal with them. Training at the minor-league baseball sta- dium is right in line with their mission, said the 2nd CST Commander, Lt. Col. Aron Sacchetti. Unfortunately, terrorists target such places in order to cause many casualties and incite wide- spread terror, he explained. New York Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Joshua Spagnola of the 2nd CST uses evidence markers “We try to conduct training in public venues to tag suspected hazardous materials during a training exercise at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium on where there are likely to be large gatherings of April 12. people,” he said. “This gives us familiarity with one, photographing the entire scene, categoriz- Sacchetti said. Team members completed the the venue beforehand, and familiarity with ing hazards and collecting samples. Stocked mission by 12 p.m., he added. security personnel at those places.” with many simulated hazardous materials and The 2nd CST conducts collective training According to the training scenario, stadium other chemical-processing equipment, the about once a month, often with first respond- security personnel who discovered the lab mock laboratory was designed to challenge the ers, Sacchetti said. began exhibiting signs of sulfur-mustard agent team members’ abilities. “We try and incorporate our civilian coun- exposure, Sacchetti said. The team’s mission was Since their mission also involves evidence terparts as often as possible,” he said. to identify hazards, then recommend mitiga- collection, the team members’ methodical ap- tion measures and all other precautions to the proach also prevents cross-contamination and local incident commander, he explained. tainting of evidence, said 2nd CST 1st Sgt. Noel Driving several specialized vehicles – includ- Fredericks, of Schenectady, N.Y. ing the 2nd CST’s mobile laboratory, called the “This is definitely an attention-to-detail type Analytical Laboratory System (ALS) -- team of job,” he said. members arrived at the stadium and set up Team members work from general to spe- communications equipment, hazardous-mate- cific, Fredericks said, first determining if a sub- rials detectors and other gear. stance is a hazard, then attempting to identify Following initial briefings, 2nd CST mem- what it is. Sometimes substances might simply bers Sgt. Christopher Rodriguez and Staff Sgt. be ingredients used in the making of WMDs, Joshua Spagnola, wearing breathing apparatus called “pre-cursor chemicals,” he explained. and orange hazmat suits, entered the stadium “That chemical may be only used to make to conduct reconnaissance. one thing in the WMD realm,” he said. “We know when we’re going in, we’re facing Samples are then further identified using something hazardous,” Sacchetti stressed. “But the mobile laboratory. The ALS can analyze a we’re equipped to handle those situations.” New York National Guard 2nd Civil Support wide range of chemical warfare agents, toxic Team members Sgt. Christopher Rodriguez After finding the mock laboratory, Rodriguez industrial materials, toxic industrial chemicals (left) and Staff Sgt. Joshua Spagnola (right) and Spagnola began the painstaking process of and biological warfare agents. move toward a mock WMD laboratory during identifying hazardous materials, tagging them the 2nd CST’s training exercise in Troy, N.Y. on “By collecting a sample and conducting with evidence markers, photographing each April 12, 2017. more testing, we’re able to confirm what it is,”

Spring 2017 15 ARMY NATIONAL GUARD GUARD Rainbow Division Welcomes New Commander Story by Col. Richard Goldenberg, Joint Force Headquarters ALBANY, N.Y. - New York Army National Guard Brig. Gen. Steven Ferrari, a veteran of the , took command of the 42nd Infantry Division during a change of command ceremony held at the Empire State Plaza here May 6, 2017. Ferrari had been serving as As- sistant Division Commander for the combat division headquarters since 2011. “You are the right leader for this organization,” said Brig. Gen. Raymond Shields, commander of the New York Army National Guard, after the transfer of colors. “Your depth of experience and caring leadership style make you supremely qualified to lead the division to new heights of Soldier and unit readiness.” “What an honor to assume com- mand of the famous 42nd Infantry Division,” Ferrari said. “I pledge my dedication and commitment to ensure that the continued success of this historic division that turns 100 years old on August 13, 2017.” The 42nd Division was orga- Soldiers of the New York Army National Guard’s 42nd Infantry Division World War I Color Guard support the division change of command ceremony at the Empire State Plaza in Albany on May 6, 2017. Brig. Gen. nized out of National Guard units Steven Ferrari assumed command of the division headquarters from Maj. Gen. Harry Miller in front of the from 26 states as the country gen- colors and Soldiers of the 42nd Division’s associated brigades. Photo by Col. Richard Goldenberg, Joint Force erated an Army to fight in World Headquarters. War I. The division’s first chief of Ferrari replaces Army National er led to some impressive and truly staff, then Col. Douglas MacAr- Guard Maj. Gen. Harry Miller outstanding accomplishments. You thur, said the division would who moved into an active duty as- leave this organization with your stretch across the country “like a signment with the Army National unique stamp and improved readi- rainbow” and the nickname stuck. Guard. Miller took command of ness across the board,” Ferrari said. The 42nd Division, which the division in April 2013. The ceremony was held on the included a New York National “Thank you for all you have steps of the New York State Mu- Guard infantry regiment and first done for the 42nd Infantry Divi- seum that recently opened its latest organized outside of New York sion and the New York Army Na- exhibit, “A Spirit of Sacrifice: New City at Camp Mills, Long Island, is tional Guard,” Shields told Miller York State in the First World War” also conducting its own centennial in the ceremony. which includes artifacts telling the commemorations in 2017-2019. Brig. Gen. Steven Ferrari The 42nd Infantry Division story of the 42nd Infantry Division The change of command cer- receives the colors of the 42nd has had a high tempo over the in the war. Division during his change emony featured the colors of the past four years, and Ferrari noted of command ceremony May battalions and brigades which fall Miller’s “dedicated and superb 6. Photo by Lt. Col. Roberta under the 42nd Infantry Division Comerford, 42nd Infantry leadership during his tenure as the for training purposes. Division. 42nd Infantry Division command-

16 GUARD TIMES Orion leadership passes to Brigade to Division transition earns former 2-108th commander promotion; general officer’s star Guard Times Staff Story by Eric Durr, Guard Times Staff FORT DRUM, N.Y.-- Joseph honor,” Biehler said follow- said. Biehler, a veteran of the ing his promotion. “Being a He also thanked Maj. Gen. Iraq and Afghan wars, and Soldier is such an honor, and I Anthony German, the Adju- Finance Senior Manager for still very much enjoy wearing tant General, and Brig. Gen. Rochester’s Harris Corpora- this uniform.” Raymond Shields, the assistant tion, is now the New York Biehler’s promotion came adjutant general for the New Army National Guard’s new- following a ceremony in which York Army National Guard, est general officer. he turned over command for their confidence in him. Biehler, who joined the of the 27th Infantry Brigade Biehler was commissioned Army National Guard as an Combat Team to Col. Chris- as an infantry officer in May infantry officer in 1987, was topher Cronin. Cronin, also 1987. Prior to his command promoted to brigadier general a veteran of the Afghan War, of the 27th Infantry Brigade during a ceremony at Fort previously served as com- Combat Team, he was com- Drum May 21, 2017. mander of the 2nd Battalion, mander of the 2nd Battalion, Biehler had been the 108th Infantry. 108th Infantry. commander of the New York In his remarks Biehler He was the battalion’s Army National Guard’s 27th thanked his wife Sonya for her operations officer during its Infantry Brigade Combat support over the years, as well deployment to Iraq in 2004 Team for the past four years. as his mother and father and and commanded the battal- He will now serve as the his brothers for their support. ion during its deployment to assistant division commander Brig. Gen. Steven Ferrari presents the 27th “They are the ones that Afghanistan in 2012 as Task Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s colors to Col. for maneuver of the 42nd In- encouraged me to become a Force Iron. Christopher Cronin, the new 27th Infantry fantry Division, based in Troy. Soldier and an officer,” Biehler Brigade Commander during the unit change “This is a tremendous of command ceremony at Fort Drum May 21. Photo by Sgt. Alexander Rector, 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

FORT DRUM -- Col. Christopher Cronin, a veteran of combat operations in Afghani- stan, took command of the New York Army National Guard’s 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, headquartered in Syracuse in a ceremony in front of brigade Soldiers on Sunday, May 21. Cronin, a resident of Victor, N.Y., took command from Col. Joseph Biehler, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, who commanded the 27th Brigade Combat Team since 2013. Both officers are traditional National Guard members and both previously served as battalion commanders of the 2nd Battal- ion, 108th Infantry, headquartered in Utica, N.Y. Cronin was replaced by Lt. Col. Jeffrey Csoka for command of the 2-108th Infantry in Utica. Biehler moves on to serve as the Brig. Gen. Joseph Biehler, the former 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander receives deputy commander of the New York Army his new rank insignia from his father, John Biehler while being promoted to the rank of brigadier National Guard’s 42nd Infantry Division general during his change-of-command ceremony at Fort Drum, N.Y. , May 21 2017. Following his tenure with the 27th IBCT, Biehler will now serve as the 42nd Infantry Division’s assistant division Headquarters. commander. Photo by Sgt. Alexander Rector, 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

Spring 2017 17 Competition is Great Training for New York Snipers Story by Eric Durr, Guard Times Staff 22-27 at the Winston P. Wilson let them work through the rough Sniper Championship. spots, the two men said. Held at the National Guard “We were off to a pretty rough Marksmanship Training Center at start, but once we started getting Camp J.T. Robinson, Fort Chaffee, into our rhythm we started hitting Arkansas, the 2017 competition targets left and right,” Peters said. brought together 25 two-man A spotter and sniper usually sniper teams from across the U.S. need to work together for years to military, along with Canada, Den- understand each other, said Sgt. mark, Italy and Poland. 1st Class Brian Tippet, the Charlie The two New York Soldiers Troop readiness NCO. finished ninth in the competition “They did extremely well, better overall and came in third among than we could have hoped for, with the National Guard teams. no train-up time,” he added. Peters estimates he put about a Being a sniper means being thousand rounds down range dur- expert with five weapons systems. ing the five-day event. It also means being a bit of a math They would have done better whiz, since snipers have to calculate if he had not been a last minute ballistic solutions on the fly. addition to the team, when Peters’ Along with being able to shoot, original partner had to drop out, snipers have to be able to collect Yamakado said. battlefield information; knowing With Peters living in Hamburg in the difference, for example, be- Western New York, and Yamakado tween Russian 120 and 82 millime- ter mortars. They’ve also got to be Sgt. David Peters, left, and Staff Sgt. Masimi Yamakado, negotiate living in Garrison in the Hudson the course during the first day of the 26th Winston P. Wilson Sniper Valley—342 miles away-- it was im- experts at camouflage and stealth. Championship at Ft. Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center, Ark. on possible to get together for training. The two-man sniper team April 22, 2017. Photo by Air Force Master Sgt. Jonathan Brizendine. Instead the two men went to ranges consists of a shooter – normally the by themselves. junior Soldier—and a spotter who CAMP J.T. ROBINSON, Fort They also hammered out a quick is the more experienced Soldier. Chaffee, Arkansas -- Being a SOP over the phone over the course The shooter concentrates on sniper, according to Sgt. David Peters, is the ultimate challenge of a week. the target. The spotter maintains for an infantryman. “If we had more face time, more situational awareness and works “You have to know so much lead time, and more train-up time, out the ballistic solution-- based information. You have to perfect I am confident we could have got on temperature, wind, humidity or and master the infantry tasks and into the top five and top four,” rain, distance and bullet trajectory- you have to perfect and master the Yamakado said. -necessary to hit the target. sniper tasks as well, said Peters, a “Everything was either all or Peters was the shooter while sniper team leader in C Troop, 2nd nothing. We either cleaned it, and Yamakado spotter. The competition Squadron 101st Cavalry. “You have got maximum points, or we didn’t tested their abilities with multiple to be very precise.” score because of something we weapons systems, Yamakado said. Peters, along with Staff Sgt. didn’t prepare for,” he explained. “It ran almost like a three-gun Masami Yamakado, a squad leader Yamakado, a former sniper event,” Yamakado said. “I would in Company C, 1st Battalion, 69th section leader in Charlie Troop run to a building for 50 to 100 Staff Sgt. Masimi Yamakado Infantry, got a chance to test his who helped train Peters, is school- yards and engage pistol targets. wears his homemade “ghillie sniper skills against top-notch com- trained and competed in the 2014 And then I would go in the build- suit” during the Sniper petitors from the Army National sniper competition. But he hadn’t ing and engage in a room with the Championship at Ft. Chaffee, trained as a sniper in two years. M-4 and then go upstairs and shoot Ark. on April 24, 2017. Photo Guard, Active Army Sniper School, by Master Sgt. Jonathan USMC Scout/Sniper School, USMC That experience, and their famil- the sniper rifle. There were a lot of Brizendine. Reserves and foreign armies April iarity with each other, eventually Snipers Continued on Next Page

18 GUARD TIMES Competition is Great Training for New York Snipers Last Landing for Career Aviator Story by Eric Durr, Guard Times Staff Snipers, Continued Story by Eric Durr, Guard Times Staff plain, line-infantry oriented tasks.” “It dragged the snipers out of their comfort zone,” he added. This was a big change from the 2014 competi- tion, in which 95 percent of the tasks involved the sniper rifle, Yamakado said. One of the most challenging events, and one the New Yorkers did well at, was the “live-fire stalk.” The teams had to don their camouflage A UH-60 Blackhawk piloted by Chief Warrant Officer 5 Charles Rodda lands at the Army “ghillie suits” and work into a firing position Aviation Support Facility in Latham, N.Y., June 22, saluted by Albany International Airport fire overlooking a target without being seen, both trucks spraying an arc of water over the helicopter. Photo by Pfc. Andrew Valenza, Joint Force day and night. Headquarters. Once they were on target they fired a blank LATHAM, N.Y.—In the summer of 1985, National Guard aviation disaster response, in- round. An evaluator would approach the area to Warrant Officer Charles “Chuck” Rodda cluding Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Hurricane spot the team. Not being spotted added points. took off for the first time as an Army heli- Irene and Tropical Storm Lee in 2011 and To keep the competitors honest – by ensuring copter pilot at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Superstorm Sandy in 2012. He also deployed they were actually in the designated area — the On June 22, 2017, 31-years and 5,788 hours several times to the Southwest Border operat- evaluator would hold up a placard. The snipers of flying time later, Chief Warrant Officer 5 ing out of Texas and Arizona. had to be close enough to call in the number on Rodda made his last landing here. He deployed to Honduras in 1998, Nicara- the card to the score keepers. Rodda was saluted by family, friends and gua in 2002 and back to Honduras again in Then the team would engage the target and colleagues as he made his “final flight” as an 2006 before a combat tour in Iraq with the 3rd get scored on whether or not the right targeting Army Aviator, ending a 31-year flying career Battalion, 142nd Aviation in 2009. information was “dialed in” on the weapon. and 35-year career in the National Guard. He’s served as the 42nd Combat Aviation The event was challenging because it was an A nephew, New York Army National Guard Brigade and state aviation safety officer, and as event that Peters had not trained for. Spec. Bill Edwards, served as crew chief on the state standardization instructor pilot. What’s more, Yamakado’s ghillie suit was in a the flight. It was their first and last time flying While putting aside his Army uniform, shipping container heading for Australia, where together, Rodda joked. Rodda will keep on flying. He’s got a job lined the 101st Cavalry will train this summer, because Another nephew, Air Force Airman Jarr up as a corporate pilot flying helicopters in he wasn’t planning to be at the competition. Mazza, based at Dover Air Force Base, also New York and the northeast. “I showed up at the stalk as the only guy with- joined him on the flight. While still flying, he will miss the passen- out a ghillie suit. So I put a bungee cord around “To be perfectly honest it’s a bittersweet gers he has now, Rodda said. my waist and stuck in some branches and rolled type of thing,” Rodda said. “I love what I do. I “I love flying the UH-60 and flying the U.S. with it,” he said. love wearing the uniform,” he added. Army infantry. The best thing that America Another unique event was the chance to en- “One would be hard pressed to find anyone has to offer is the U.S. Army infantry and it’s gage targets from a hovering UH-60 helicopter. in the New York Army Guard aviation com- been an honor,” he said. Peters balanced his weapon on a safety strap munity that has not learned something from and had one minute to fire ten rounds at targets him,” said Col. Mark Slusar, State Aviation 500 and 600 meters from the aircraft. Officer. Peters, said Yamakado, was one of the few who Rodda, 52, enlisted at age 17 in 1982 as a actually hit a target firing from the helicopter. medic. After a few years he wanted a change While the event was a competition, both of pace. So he applied for pilot training and Peters and Yamakado said they learned new reported to Fort Rucker in June 1985. techniques and tactics from the other competi- He graduated a year later in 1986 and first tors every day -- lessons they’ll pass on to New flew the UH-1M, a gunship version of the York Army National Guard snipers. venerable UH-1 “Huey” helicopter that looked “I think we changed the SOP several times, like something out of a movie. just looking at how other teams do things,” With unit reorganizations, Rodda later flew Chief Warrant Officer 5 Rodda greets well Yamakado said. “The school house does a very the AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter, UH-60 wishers following his final flight June 22. good job at making it one part match and one Blackhawk and UH-72 Lakota aircraft as well. Photo by Pfc. Andrew Valenza, Joint Force Headquarters. part training event.” He was part of nearly every New York

Spring 2017 19 Harlem Hellfighters Redeploy New York Soldiers Return from Kuwait deployment Story by Sgt. Jeremy Bratt, 369th Sustainment Brigade CAMP ARIFJAN, KUWAIT -- Some 250 New York Army National Guard Soldiers successfully completed their overseas mission in Ku- wait and returned back in New York after 10 months. The Soldiers are part of the 369th Sustainment Brigade and were re- sponsible for logistics support of American forces throughout the Middle East from November, 2016 until late June. The 369th oversaw sustainment operations in nine countries through- out the Middle East, in support of allied and coalition forces and also combat operations against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. “The Hell Fighters have lived up to their call sign and then some. They have been through one of the toughest missions given to a sustainment brigade,” said Col. Stephen M. Bousquet, brigade commander, during the unit’s transfer of authority ceremony on June 26 in Kuwait. “They sustained the forces throughout the Middle East in nine coun- tries and at 20 different locations, providing support to joint U.S. and Coalition forces. Their work ethic was unmatched and their dedication was unparalleled,” he said. The Soldiers returned to locations across New York from Fort Hood, Col. Stephen M. Bousquet, 369th Sustainment Brigade Commander, Texas, where they were out processing on July 8-9. The unit was mobi- and Command Sgt. Maj. Anthony Mclean, senior enlisted advisor, case lized on Sept. 7, 2016. the brigade colors during the transfer of authority at Camp Arifjan, The 369th Sustainment Brigade is nicknamed the Harlem Hell Fighters Kuwait, June 26, 2017. The 369th relinquished command of operations and carries the lineage of the African-American 369th Infantry Regiment to the 371st Sustainment Brigade from the Ohio National Guard. Photo by Sgt. Jeremy Bratt, 369th Sustainment Brigade. which fought with distinction in World War I. The 369th Sustainment Brigade was originally organized as the 15th federalized in 1917 and sent to France the unit was renumbered as the Regiment of the New York National Guard in 1915 as a unit for African 369th Infantry Regiment. American Soldiers in a segregated Army. When the 15th New York was The organization celebrates its centennial service in WWI this year. Aircrews train for Summer fire fighting season Story and photo by Pfc. Andrew Valenza, Joint Force Headquarters ROUND LAKE, N.Y. -- Soldiers licopter requires practice because from the 3rd Battalion, 142nd it changes the flying characteristics Aviation conducted water bucket of the aircraft, explained 1st Lt. training to better prepare for Forrest Thrush, and instructor pi- the summer wildfire season here lot and assistant operations office. May 31. The load oscillates as the he- The 560-gallon buckets are licopter flies and the pilot has to hung underneath the helicopter, compensate, Thrush explained. filled with water by dipping them Each crew consists of four in a lake or stream, and then dis- people. Two pilots and two crew charged over a forest or wild fire. chiefs. One crew chief controls the Water bucket training is done to water bucket, and the other assists. prepare aviators to assist local fire “We met the objective, at least departments in controlling forest for our aircraft and our crew. We fires and wild fires. Each summer got everyone trained, we got our selected crews train on the system New York Army National Guard aircrew from the 3rd Battalion, 142nd initial qualification done so I’d call Aviation prepare to fill a Bambi Bucket with water from Round Lake, to prepare for an emergency call. that a success.” Said 1st Lt. Forrest N.Y., May 31, 2017. The aviators were conducting a slow pick-up in Flying with almost two tons of order to fill their bucket with as much water as possible. Thrush. water hanging underneath the he-

20 GUARD TIMES New York Army National Guard Sgt. Yaanique Scott salutes New York Air National Guard Maj. Gen. Anthony German, the Adjutant General, as he presents the Medal of Valor-New York’s highest military award for heroism to four New York Army National Guard Soldiers who successfully rescued the pilot of a plane which crashed and burned at Gabreski Airport on Feb. 26, during a ceremony at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Ronkonkoma on Sunday, June 4. The award of Medals of Valor to four Soldiers recognize those who braved the flaming wreckage of a private plane to rescue pilot Richard Rosenthal and the award of the Conspicuous Service Medal is for the three Soldiers who supported the rescue by landing the helicopter near the aircraft.

Army Aviation Soldiers awarded for Rescue Story and photos by Col. Richard Goldenberg, Joint Force Headquarters RONKONKOMA, N.Y. —— Four New York “It is from the bottom of my heart that I do Army National Guard Soldiers who rescued say thank you,” Rosenthal, said at the ceremony. a pilot from a burning plane received New “It has given me a very new perspective on being York’s highest medal for heroism during a able to say I am glad to be here. Thank you ever June 4 ceremony at the Army Aviation Sup- so much.” port Facility at MacArthur Airport. New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo also The members of the Company B, 3rd Bat- praised the Soldiers. talion, 142nd Aviation Regiment were presented “These brave New Yorkers went above and the New York State Medal of Valor by Maj. Gen. beyond the call of duty and embody the very Anthony German, the Adjutant General. best of the New York National Guard,” Cuomo On Feb. 26, the four crewmembers -- Chief said. “I commend the entire crew for their quick Warrant Officer 2 Ronald Ramirez, and Warrant actions and I am proud to see these exemplary Richard Rosenthal speaks with Chief Officers Christopher Hansen and Aaron Pacholk servicemen and women receive this very deserv- Warrant Officer 2 Ronald Ramirez to express and Sgt. Yaanique Scott— exited a UH-60 his gratitude for his actions following ing honor.” helicopter and raced to a single engine plane that Rosenthal’s Feb. 26 plane crash near Gabreski The seven Soldiers were flying to Francis S. Airport. had crashed in the woods by Gabreski Airport in Gabreski Air National Guard Base in Westhamp- Westhampton Beach, N.Y. ton Beach when the pilots were notified that a Unfortunately, efforts to rescue the remaining They managed to pull pilot Richard Rosenthal, plane which had been performing practice land- two passengers were unsuccessful. 61, out of the aircraft as it burned. Unfortunately ings at the civilian airfield could not be seen and “We should be reminded that nothing we do is a passenger and a flight instructor lost their lives was not responding to radio calls. The flight crew routine,” German said. “Every day can mean life in the crash. immediately began a search and discovered the or death. Their selfless and heroic efforts saved a Three other Soldiers received the State Con- downed private aircraft in a nearby wooded area. life and we are proud to recognize their efforts.” spicuous Service Medal for their quick actions in After landing their helicopter approximately “We just expected to go out and do training landing the helicopter and aiding in the rescue. 200 feet away from the downed aircraft, which and ended up saving someone’s life,” Hansen Chief Warrant Officer 3 Joseph McCarthy, was already engulfed in flames, four members said. “It’s a proud moment. We had a great crew the aircraft commander; Chief Warrant Officer of the crew approached the burning aircraft and that accomplished something special for Mr. 2 Meghan Polis, the co-pilot; and Spc. Sarah were able rescue one of the three individuals Rosenthal.” Noschese received that award. aboard the plane, Richard Rosenthal. The accident remains under investigation.

Spring 2017 21 Artillery, Aviation team up for Combined Training Story by Eric Durr and Pfc. Andrew Valenza, Guard Times Staff

FORT DRUM – It was hard to tell which was 258th Field Artillery. While this was going on, the rest of the bat- louder: the boom from the cannons or the “It gives the maneuver commander the tery’s Soldiers were preparing the M119A2s roar of the downdraft from helicopter rotors, ability to strike a high value target using speed, howitzers for sling-loading under the UH-60s as New York Army National Guard artillery surprise and precision that is beyond the nor- and then hooking them up to the hovering and aviation Soldiers teamed up for air as- mal range of his indirect fire assets,” Mehling helicopters. sault artillery raid training here June 8-9. explained. Flying with 2.3 tons of cannon hanging The training scenario called for the artillery- The air assault artillery raid is an integral underneath a helicopter is tricky, so it’s always men of the 1st Battalion, 258th Field Artillery part of the howitzer firing requirements his good for his aircrews to get a chance to practice to be airlifted forward with their cannons and Soldiers need to conduct annually, he added. the task, said Lt. Col. Kevin Ferreira, the com- ammunition by the UH-60s of the 3rd Battalion This year the battalion’s Alpha Battery, based mander of the 142nd Aviation. 142nd Aviation. Once back on the ground the in New Windsor, N.Y., fielded four M119A2 “With an external load the handling capabili- artilleryman would fire on a critical target, call howitzers to conduct live fire training as part of ties and the flight characteristics of the aircraft in the helicopters, hook their guns back up and the air assault drill, while Bravo Battery, located change a little bit so, it’s a thought process…it’s be airlifted back out. in the Bronx, had two gun crews go through the a good decision making process for all the air This field artillery air assault is a critical task exercise in a dry fire status. crews that are participating,” he explained. for his battalion which provides fire support for The mission kicked off as the Blackhawks Two Soldiers from the 258th stood on each the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, said airlifted in an advance party which had 20 min- cannon as the Blackhawks came in over top Lt. Col. Peter Mehling, the commander of the utes to secure the area and mark gun locations. of them. The downdraft from a helicopter can

22 GUARD TIMES Artillery raid photos, clockwise from top left: Pfc. Michael Natole, a cannon crewmember assigned to Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 258th Artillery Regiment, stands watch during the battery’s June 9 air assault artillery raid at Fort Drum. During the raid four of the battery’s howitzers were transported to the landing zone and subsequently engaged a simulated enemy target. A UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from the 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation transports an M119A2 howitzer during the June 9 raid. Above, Alpha Battery Soldiers prepare to attach their 105mm M119A2 Howitzer to a UH-60 Blackhawk for the air assault artillery raid. Far left, battery cannon crewmembers conduct the artillery raid. Photos by Sgt. Alexander Rector, 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

range from 70 to 115 miles per hour, so it was a When all guns were in place each howitzer “Executing challenging training, with rigor- challenge for the Soldiers to hook on correctly fired four rounds on the target. ously evaluated standards is the reason many as dirt and dust flew around them. The M119A2 can fire a 105 millimeter shell cite when they re-enlist,” Mehling said. On board the UH-60s, crew chiefs sitting in filled with 4.6 pounds of high explosive, 8.6 Overall the mission went well, Mehling said. the doorway of the helicopters helped guide the miles downrange. A seven-member gun crew Both batteries met the standards of the raid pilots in to hook onto the guns. can fire three rounds a minute. and the standards for the field artillery firing The 142nd Aviation is a good unit to work Along with exercising the gun crews, the air tables. They inserted their howitzers, computed with for this training, said Capt. Eric Emerling, assault exercise is important because it gives the accurate firing date, delivered the rounds on the Alpha Battery commander. battalion Soldiers who are air assault qualified a target and exfiltrated people and guns within “They’re very user friendly,” he said. “We chance to use the skills they learned in the Air the time standards. keep in contact with them on the radio and Assault Course, Mehling said. These Soldiers “The fire mission itself went very well,” they’ve been very adaptive if we have an issue don’t often get a chance to use this training, so Emerling said. “We got word that there were on the ground. They’re willing to work with us, anytime they can it is a plus. good effects on the target from the observers.” give us more time or adapt as we need it so it’s “The success of this training was largely due “In the field artillery it is very easy to mea- pretty good.” to the knowledge, experience, and leadership of sure success,” Mehling said, “either you hit the Next stop was the landing zone where the these personnel,” he emphasized. target or you don’t.” advance party had prepared a location for all The air assault artillery raid is also the kind four guns in the section. of training his Soldiers love to do, Mehling said.

Spring 2017 23 AIR NATIONAL GUARD GUARD

106th Airmen leap into dark Atlantic night to save lives Story by Capt. Michael O’Hagan, 106th Rescue Wing THE ATLANTIC OCEAN -- Gusts of wind On May 21st, Boughal and the other Onboard the Tamar, heading from Baltimore hurled into the cabin and around the Airmen members of the wing who jumped that night, to Gibraltar with a cargo of coal, an explosion inside, as the rear ramp of the HC-130 search along with the aircrew who got them there, occurred in a forward storeroom where four and rescue aircraft opened to the darkness were recognized for their heroism by Slovenian sailors were working. One sailor died almost of the Atlantic Ocean below on the night of President Borat Pahor. immediately and three were badly burned. April 24. Pahor presented the men with his country’s Shortly before 7 a.m. the captain of the Members of the New York Air National Medal for Merit in the Military Field during a Marshall Islands-flagged vessel sent a distress Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing were preparing to visit to the United Nations in New York City. call that was eventually routed to the U.S. Coast jump into the sea less than 1,400 feet beneath The explosion and fire on the Tamar had Guard’s Boston Rescue Coordination Center them. been a major news story in Slovenian, Pahor for action. The low altitude jump was uncustomary, but said. Coast Guard officials looked at the available necessary, because of a low cloud ceiling - and His mother, the president recalled, asked him emergency assets: the 106th Rescue Wing, or because two badly burned seamen were cling- if there was any hope for the injured crewmen. a Canadian Coast Guard Cutter several hours ing to life aboard the ship Tamar on the ocean Pahor said he had replied, “Listen, if anybody, away from the Tamar with limited medical below. our American friends will do the job.” capability. Two sailors had already died on the vessel, a For the Airmen of the 106th Rescue Wing Boughal and St. Clair started putting togeth- 623-foot long Slovenian-owned bulk cargo car- at Gabreski Air National Guard Base, April 24, er the team that would jump into the Atlantic rier, but the remaining injured men were in dire 2017 started as another routine day. and board the Tamar. need of immediate medical treatment. 103rd Rescue Squadron members Senior While they worked, Hartman, Dalere and So seven members of the wing’s 103rd Res- Airman Michael Hartman, Staff Sgt. Bryan Smith got a police escort from the Fire Training cue Squadron jumped. Dalere, and Master Sgt. Jed Smith were training Academy on Randall’s Island back to West- “This was definitely one of our most dif- on confined space rescues at the Fire Depart- hampton Beach. Senior Master Sgt. Erik Blom, ficult missions, recalled Major Edward “Sean” ment New York Training Academy. Tech. Sgt. Maj. Martin Viera, and Tech Sgt. Joseph Piccoli Boughal, a combat rescue officer. “There were Jordan St. Clair, another member of the 103rd, rounded out the team from the 103rd Rescue definitely periods where things could have gone was on the range getting some “trigger time.” Squadron. south really fast.” Major Jeffrey Cannet had been preparing to pilot his HC-130 search and rescue aircraft crew out for a training mission that day. Now, he and his crew, along with aircraft maintainers --crew chiefs Staff Sgt. Michael Cruz and Senior Airman Hopeton Gordon-- changed gears quickly and got ready for a long-range rescue mission out to a dot in the Atlantic Ocean and back, recalled Cannet. For the men on his crew, there was a sense of purpose knowing they were the only hope, Cannet said. Five hours after take-off, the navigators, Lt. Col. Christopher Adam and Maj. Kevin Lawhon’s calculations proved correct as the HC-130 broke through the clouds to find the Tamar right where they estimated it to be. Now it was time for the pararescuemen and combat rescue officers. A second sailor had since died onboard the Tamar, and the remain- An airman from Esquadra 751, the Portuguese Air Force search and rescue organization, ing two seamen had hours left to live if nothing accompanies a litter carrying one of the injured Tamar crewman off the ship onto a hovering was done, Boughal remembered. Merlin helicopter April 27, in the Atlantic Ocean after he and another badly burned sailor had been treated by members of the New York Air National Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing for the past The HC-130 crew dropped two Zodiac boats three days. Video still by Senior Master Sgt. Erik Blom. into the water.

24 GUARD TIMES New York Air National Guard Airmen from the 106th Rescue Wing prepare to jump from an HC-130 search and rescue plane 1,300 miles east into the North Atlantic on April 24, 2017 as they go to the aid of two badly burned crewman on board the Slovenian-owned ship the Tamar. Two sailors had already died from a fire on board the ship which prompted the dispatch of the 106th Rescue Wing aircraft. Courtesy photo.

The pararescuemen and combat rescue offi- and Smith had them moved together to create a to cut a slit in the man’s throat, a procedure cers, wearing dry suits, followed their boats out makeshift ICU to treat them more efficiently. known as a cricothyrotomy, to pass a tube al- the back of the HC-130. Each man was wearing The team needed to balance the available re- lowing him to breathe, according to St. Clair. a flashing beacon along with red and green sources to treat the patients as it would be two The medical mission extended into a third “chem” lights to mark their direction and loca- days before they could get close enough to the day before the vessel was close enough to the tion to avoid canopy collisions in the night sky. Azores for an airlift from the Portuguese Search Azores for a helicopter to reach the Tamar. “I definitely found a moment to pray. I (won- and Rescue Force, Smith said. The patients were prepared to be airlifted dered), did I kiss my wife and son goodbye “When we got there we found the crewmen onboard the Merlin helicopter from the Portu- enough?” Viera said. “I was like, God, if this badly burned on their face, arms, legs and guese Air Force’s search and rescue organiza- is my time to go, I guess this is it. But please, I hands. The initial report was that they were tion, Esquadra 751. would really like to make an impact on these conscious, talking and were mobile,’ St. Clair Viera, Smith and Hartman were hoisted up people’s lives.” said. “But we knew the end state. Their lives to the Portuguese helicopter along with the two The first team of four jumped about three were absolutely at risk.” patients so they could ensure continuity of care. seconds apart and then the second team of The Slovenian sailor could talk a little bit and The Portuguese flight doctor decided the best three the same. he let the Airmen know it was getting harder option was to allow the team to continue treat- “Collisions can be potentially fatal at that for him to breathe, Dalere said. The team de- ment after spending 36 hours with these two altitude,” Boughal said. “There were a couple of cided it was time to secure his airway. men, Viera said. moments where I was thinking, ‘Where are my A tube was inserted through the sailor’s Nearly three hours later, the Merlin helicop- guys?’ because it was so dark.” airway and he was placed on a ventilator to help ter touched down in the Azores. At that point, There was no time to be scared, St. Clair keep him alive, according to Dalere. Viera recalled, the realization dawned on him recalled. There was not a lot of time to get ready The Airmen then took turns watching over that after three days he was no longer respon- for hitting the water so he focused on the task their patients in shifts. They performed wound sible for the two injured sailors. at hand. debridement, a procedure in which dead tissue The ability to execute this complex mission- Dalere took charge of boarding the Tamar is removed that may inhibit the healing process. was a testament to the training the 106th and St. Clair organized the crew to use a crane They performed escharotomies, a procedure Rescue Wing does, said Col. Michael Bank, the on the stern of the ship to hoist supplies aboard. in which incisions are made on badly burned wing commander. Hartman and Smith, who was the primary tissue to establish blood circulation and reduce “We are able to employ highly skilled, trained medic for the mission, a traditional Guard pressure on the wounds. and diverse Airmen to accomplish a very com- Airman and physician assistant in civilian life, Several hours later, the Filipino sailor’s air- plex rescue operation because we train to those headed for the patients. way became compromised but was too swollen high standards every day. I’m proud of the job The injured crewmen were in different cabins to allow a tube to pass. The pararescuemen had they did,” Bank said.

Spring 2017 25 Air Force Amanda takes to the skies Adventures in Antarctica children’s book gives Air Guard perspective Story by Master Sgt. Catharine Schmidt, 109th Airlift Wing “Her mighty 109th Airlift Wing provides support “I want to educate and empower! I have for Science Exploration. Flying gives her adventure and pride serving her glorious Nation. Air Force joined my love for education and my Amanda is a Navigator in the ‘Skibird’, the Air Force’s coolest plane! Her navigation skills help fly through dangerous and challenging terrain.” profession as an Air Force aviator” - Air Force Amanda: Adventure in Antarctica -- Maj. Amanda Coonradt STRATTON AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Scotia, N.Y. – Air Force Amanda – the sto- Coonradt needed to find someone who rybook character version of Major Amanda would bring her words to life through illustra- Coonradt of the 109th Airlift Wing – came tion. Through online research, she was able to life in December 2015 while Coonradt was to find Julio Rodriguez. She sent pictures of supporting science research in Antarctica. herself, the aircraft and other images to help Her daughter, Amelia, was just 7 months old, him illustrate her story. and Coonradt wanted to explain to her why her The next step was to get the book published. mom was 9,500 miles away from Grafton, New “I wasn’t sure how to be published – so I York, where Amelia was. started digging deeper,” she said. After a lot of So she decided to write a book to not only online research, she discovered the Society of make her feel closer to her daughter back home Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and but to also help other children understand why was able to find the tools and resources needed the mission that took their parents to the other Maj. Amanda Coonradt, an LC-130 “Skibird” to self-publish her book. side of the world was so important. navigator, recently self-published a children’s Coonradt self-published the book through “I made it a goal of mine during my quiet book, “Air Force Amanda: Adventure in Create Space, an Amazon company, and re- time while I was on the ice and missing her,” Antarctica.” Photo by Staff Sgt. Benjamin leased it June 10. She has plans for an “Air Force German, 109th Airlift Wing. Coonradt explained. Amanda” adventure series. “I’d go to the library or write in my room and Along with being a navigator, Coonradt “I want to educate and empower! I have try to get inspired to get the ball rolling. I wrote holds a bachelor’s degree in childhood educa- joined my love for education and my profession about three-quarters of it while I was on the ice tion and a master’s degree in education and as an Air Force aviator by bringing to life ‘Air that year,” she said. literacy. Her goal when she first enlisted with Force Amanda’s’ adventure series,” she said. Now Coonradt, a navigator for the LC-130 the 109th in 2000 was to obtain her bachelor’s “I might go into a little bit more detail about “Skibird” planes the 109th flies to the Antarc- degree and become a teacher. what the navigator really does on the airplane, tic, the Arctic and Greenland, is sharing the As she got more exposure to the military, she with plotting and mission planning and fuel adventure of Air Force Amanda with children found an interest in flying and her priorities planning,” Coonradt said. everywhere through “Air Force Amanda: Ad- changed; her new goal was to become a naviga- “I absolutely wrote this for Amelia and any venture in Antarctica.” tor. She got her commission in 2007. future children we may have. If it’s not success- She envisions the self-published book as the In April of 2015, Coonradt and her husband, ful, that’s fine. The success for me is that I’ve first in a series. Russ, had their daughter, Amelia. completed this goal, and I have this for her.” “Since I had Amelia, I’m always on the Coonradt began writing the book while she “This was my first try and there were lookout for books about military parents or was deployed to Antarctica in December of definitely some lessons learned. I’d like to do a military female parent who deploys or does 2015 – her first time deployed to the ice since one about New Zealand, Greenland, United exciting things,” Coonradt said. her daughter was born. States – something fun, I don’t really know yet,” “I had a hard time finding that. I don’t really “I knew (deploying) was going to be a huge Coonradt said. “We’ll see where my imagina- see a lot of very specific mission-orientated hardship, but it was something that Russ and I tion goes and what I’m able to do.” books especially with female flyers. That’s when talked about even before we tried for children “Thank you for flying with Air Force Aman- I decided I really want to get this out there,” she - that this was going to be part of our lifestyle,” da today. You too can find pride and adventure said. “I thought it might benefit my military she said. in your own special way! Adventure can be brothers and sisters who do this mission year The book discusses the history, science, found through the world, anywhere. It’s up to after year. And sometimes it’s hard to explain animals and landscape of Antarctica from the you to reach for the stars. Try it, it’s a dare!” - what they’re doing when they deploy.” perspective of a female LC-130 navigator. Air Force Amanda: Adventure in Antarctica

26 GUARD TIMES 109th Airlift Wing Turns Attention to the North Story by Master Sgt. Catharine Schmidt, 109th Airlift Wing

STRATTON AIR NATIONAL GUARD training for the support the unit provides for while transporting about 2.1 million pounds BASE, Scotia, N.Y. – The 109th Airlift Wing’s the National Science Foundation’s Antarctic of cargo, 49,000 pounds of fuel, and 1,790 pas- annual support for National Science Founda- Program when it is winter in New York and sengers. tion research in Greenland got underway this summer in Antarctica. The Greenland season will come to a close in spring as wing members delivered 177 tons Along with the unit’s routine supply mis- August; however, there’s not much downtime of cargo and 2,000 gallons of fuel during the sions, this rotation also included 25 Airmen for those supporting the mission. first three-week rotation of the season in late who took part in Arctic survival training at The Greenland planning conference for 2018 April and early May. Raven Camp better known as “Kool Skool”. will be held in October, around the same time The second rotation of three LC-130 ski- Airmen spent three days in the field learning Airmen and aircraft begin shifting to support equipped aircraft and 80 airmen departed May survival skills, including how to build a shelter Antarctic operations as part of Operation Deep 15. and use only the items immediately available to Freeze, the U.S. Department of Defense’s sup- Airmen and aircraft will rotate between the them to survive in the Arctic. port to Antarctic science programs. town of Kangerlussuaq (Kanger-loose-a-wack), The 109th deploys at various times between the wing’s operations base while in Greenland, April and August for Greenland. Each year, and Stratton Air National Guard Base in Scotia, about six rotations consisting of two to four N.Y, four more times between now and the end aircraft and up to 80 Airmen each, go for any- of August. where from six to 14 days at a time depending The Airmen and aircraft transport fuel, cargo on the needs of the National Science Founda- and passengers to and from the various science tion camps throughout Greenland during the sum- Each year the 109th flies more than 800 mer months. hours during the Greenland support season; The wing’s Greenland missions also serve as

An LC-130 “Skibird” from the 109th Airlift Wing lands at Camp Raven, Greenland, on June 28, 2016 for last year’s mission support. Crews with the 109th use Camp Raven as a training site for landing the ski-equipped LC-130s on snow and ice. Three LC-130 aircraft and 80 Airmen from the wing began rotations for the 2017 Greenland season this spring. Airmen and aircraft for the 109th Airlift Wing stage out of Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, during the summer months, supplying fuel and supplies and transporting passengers in and out of various National Science Foundation camps throughout the entire season and also train for the Operation Deep Freeze mission in Antarctica. The unique capabilities of the ski-equipped LC-130 aircraft make it the only one of its kind in the U.S. military, able to land on snow and ice. Photo by Staff Sgt. Benjamin German, 109th Airlift Wing.

Spring 2017 27 New York Guard New York Guard Marks 100 years of Service Story by Eric Durr, Gaurd Times Staff LATHAM, N.Y. — In the summer of 1917, as the New York National Guard mobilized to head “over there” to France to fight World War I, New York Governor Charles S. White- man was looking for armed men to fight on the home front over here. That need to replace National Guard Soldiers who had been protecting railroad bridges, water lines, and canals resulted in the creation of the New York Guard, the state’s volunteer self-defense force on August 3, 1917. One hundred years later, the New York Guard is still part of New York’s Military Forces, augmenting the National Guard with trained manpower. New York Guard members assist with logistics, communications, and com- mand post operations during New York State emergencies. As the United States built up an Army to fight the Central Powers, the entire New York National Guard mobilized in the summer of 1917 and was sent to training camps. The last New York Guard members mount Guard near New Paltz, N.Y. in 1918. Photo courtesy of the Haviland-Heidgard Historical Collention. National Guard troops still in state service were federalized on August 5, 1917. sisted of 17-year olds seeking some experience young for the Army, or couldn’t meet Army Prior to that, National Guard troops had before they became eligible for the draft, and standards, volunteered for service in the 1st and been pulling guard duty on key infrastructure men over 45. 2nd Provisional Regiments, while older men since February, 1917. The New York Guard was responsible for joined the part-time units. It wasn’t just paranoia. German agents blew patrolling 95 miles of aqueduct, 500 miles of By the end of 1918 there were 22,000 New up a munitions depot on the New Jersey side of state canals, and key railroad bridges. Yorkers serving in New York Guard units New York Harbor in 1916. One Guardsman on Initially the force manned guard posts with ranging from 44 men in Company G of the 5th duty on a railroad bridge in Waterford, N.Y. in members doing two-week stints. But that took Battalion in Massena, to 1,065 in the 23rd Regi- April, 1917 reported being shot at. To replace men away from work and business, which ment in Brooklyn. these National Guard troops Congress autho- hurt the war effort, Sherrill told the New York However, Adjutant General Charles W. Berry, rized the states to utilize their ability to raise Times. wrote in his annual report in 1919, no more militias to serve as state troops. Sherrill recruited a force of 2,000 men who than 5,000 troops could have been fielded. “At According to Barry Stentiford, author of the did duty full time, divided into two provisional no time was the New York Guard properly book “America’s Home Guard”, the definitive regiments. Those Soldiers were paid $1.25 a day armed, uniformed and equipped,” he wrote. work on state defense forces, New York’s leaders and the state was spending $150,000 per month For those pulling Guard duty in remote had always been particularly concerned about on the costs. places, like the aqueduct system near New Paltz needing a state military force. Army Brig. Gen. Eli D. Hoyle, the command- in Ulster County, the duty could be cold and Because New York was a heavily industri- er of the Army’s Eastern Department, praised boring but also fun. alized state, with large immigrant and poor New York Guard members for “quality and In letters now held by the Havilard-Heldgerd populations, state officials always wanted a mili- patriotic spirit” in performing their “important Historical Collection, 17-year old New York tary force around to suppress riots or violent and onerous duties.” Guard Pvt. Merville Harrington wrote home strikes, he writes. New York moved quickly The New York Times also praised the New to his family in Greene, N.Y. about his new to create a force of 10,000 men to replace the York Guard members. “Protection of the aque- duty station in High Falls, living with five other National Guard. ducts and bridges, armories and public build- Guard members in a little house near “Shaft 5” By October 1917, Adjutant General Charles ings and effective co-operation with the Federal on the aqueduct and what great duty it was. H. Sherrill recruited 10,600 men. Because all Government in its military preparations are Photos preserved in the collection, taken by able-bodied men between 18 and 45 had to essential,” the Times wrote on Oct. 7, 1917. Sgt. Thomas Burke, show the men riding in a register for the draft, the New York Guard con- Throughout the war, men who were too buddy’s car and playing with their dogs.

28 GUARD TIMES NY Guard, then to now The New York Guard continues its 100-year tradition of service to New York as the organization commemorates its creation in 1917 this summer. At top left, Capt. Christopher Dunbar and Warrant Officer Humza Bashir of the 244th Medical Group New York Guard Col. Raymond Mechmann speaks during a ceremony honoring conduct a CPR and first aid certification course for 40 members of the state defense force who died on duty during World War I while New York Guard service members April 22, 2017 guarding New York’s infrastructure at the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, at Camp Smith. While the class was a refresher for N.Y on May 7, 2017. Most of those Guardsmen, whose names are on the memorial some, it was essential that New York Guard NCOs shown here, fell victim to the influenza pandemic which swept the world in 1918. and officers practice life-saving skills in preparation The New York Guard marks 100 years of service this summer. Courtesy photo. for reporting to Annual Training later this summer. Above, New York Guard members load sandbags on But security duties in the homeland able service in guarding public utilities, board a truck for transport to a flood sites near Lake could still turn deadly. preserving order and in many other Ontario on June 12 2017. Almost 40 New York Guard Thirty-two members of the New York ways,” Berry wrote in 1919. “Its mem- members have been part of Operation Lake Ontario. The state defense force members served alongside Guard based in the Hudson Valley died bers are entitled to the highest commen- New York Military Forces to help local governments in the influenza epidemic that swept the dation for the patriotic manner in which and residents cope with high waters along Lake United States and the world in 1918, in- they performed· the important duties Ontarios shores. Courtesy photos. cluding 17-year old Merville Harrington. thrust upon them,” he said. The New York Guard rendered valu-

Spring 2017 29 New York Naval Militia On sea and land, Naval Militia lends support

GREECE, N.Y. -- New York Naval Militia Patrol Boat 280 heads out onto Lake Ontario on a presence patrol here July 2, 2017. Two boats and crews were dispatched to make pleasure boaters aware that they should reduce speeds in areas adjacent to the shore line to prevent flooding. See our related story on page 12. Photo by Chief Petty Officer Richard Stacy, New York Naval Militia.

ALONG LAKE ONTARIO, N.Y. -- New York Naval Militia Petty Officer Alaina Visconte a Rochester resident and Petty Officer Matthew MacDowell also of Rochester prepare to head out onto Lake Ontario on board New York Naval Mililitia Patrol Boat 280 in Greece N.Y. on July 2 2017. The boat was operating off areas affected by Lake Ontario flooding in order to slow down private boats in no wake zones. The mission is designed to prevent speeding along flooded lake front during the 4th of July holiday period. At right, a New York Naval Militia Sailor fills sandbags in Sodus Point, N.Y. on May 20. The Naval Militia members were among more than 200 New York Army and Air National Guard members who prepared sandbags to prevent flooding due to high water in Lake Ontario. Courtesy photo.

30 GUARD TIMES SODUS POINT, N.Y. -- Above, New York Naval Militia Sailors and Marines conduct sandbag operations at Sodus Point, N.Y. on May 31, 2017. Below, members help fill sandbags in Sodus Point on May 20. Members of the New York National Guard produced nearly one million sandbags to help contain rising waters on Lake Ontario since May 3. Photo by Lt. Joe Painter, New York Naval Militia.

Spring 2017 31