New York Guard
CAMP SMITH-New York Guard service members, Spc Victor Marrero, Spc Henry Irizarry, and Staff Sgt. Stanley Cohen, assigned to the 56th Area Command, operate the Mobile Emergency Response Center radio station during the Empire Challenge exercise, at Camp Smith Training Site, Cortlandt Manor, NY, on July 16th, 2022. The communications exercise involved 100 personnel and stations across the state and Naval Militia personnel training on Seneca Lake.
The New York Guard
The New York Guard is a state volunteer force which augments and supports the New York National Guard with manpower and skills.
New York Guard members are a volunteer, unpaid force which serves at the direction of the Governor. They assist the National Guard in planning, training for and executing state emergency support and disaster missions, and provide legal and medical pre-deployment assistance to the National Guard units and other reserve components as requested.
Many New York Guard members are retired members of the National Guard and other military services, however military experience is not a prerequisite to membership. They are part of the military forces of New York but are not federal military reservists like members of the Army and Air National Guard.
Members of the New York Guard assist National Guard Soldiers and Airmen to serve the people of New York as members of Guard Joint Task Forces which respond to state natural disasters, state emergencies and state security requirements.
