Historic New York Army National Guard unit training at Pennsylvania post to prepare for Kuwait deployment

CAMP SMITH TRAINING SITE, CORTLANDT MANOR , NY (08/11/2016)(readMedia)-- 250 New York Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 369th Sustainment Brigade- known as the Harlem Hell Fighters since World War I-begin two weeks of training today at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania.

The pre-mobilization training will prepare the Soldiers for a ten-month deployment to Kuwait later this year. The Soldiers will train at the Pennsylvania Army National Guard training site through August 24.

They will go on active duty on Sept. 6 and head to Fort Hood,Texas for 30 days of training before deploying to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.

The Soldiers left the Camp Smith Training Site here this morning for Fort Indiantown Gap.

The Soldiers of the 369th are trained to oversee the operations of logistics and transportation units to provide support for American and allied troops.

The unit has deployed troops to Mali and Cameroon in support of the United States Africa Command in training exercises with African militaries. Soldiers of the 369th also played a key role in providing logistics support during the New York National Guard's response to Super Storm Sandy in 2012.

The 369th Sustainment Brigade is headquartered at the historic 5th Avenue Armory in Harlem, New York City, but is currently operating out of Camp Smith while the armory is being renovated.

The 369th was originally organized as the 15th New York Infantry in 1916 in Harlem and was an African-American unit in the segregated Army of the time.

When the United States entered World War I in 1917, the unit was federalized and renamed the 369th Infantry.

The Soldiers served in combat under French command and earned a regimental Croix de Guerre and many individual awards for heroism while serving under fire for 191 days in 1918. They were reportedly dubbed the Hell Fighters by their German opponents.

Sgt. Henry Johnson, of Albany, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his World War I heroism while serving in the 369th.