New York Army and Air National Guard Participate in Great New York State Fair

SYRACUSE, NY (08/24/2016)(readMedia)-- Visitors to the Great New York State Fair will be able to learn more about what the Citizen Soldiers and Airmen of the New York Army and Air National Guard do for our state and nation by stopping by the Army and Air Guard displays at the fair.

Men and women from the New York Army and Air National Guard will be on site every day of the fair, which runs from August 25 to Sept. 5 to talk about their missions as part of the Army and Air Force, as well as the disaster response missions they conduct here in New York.

Army and Air Guard recruiters will also be on hand to answer questions about the benefits of serving in the Army and Air National Guard.

An Army National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk air ambulance helicopter will be on display near Gate Two of the fair.

The helicopter, assigned to Company F of the 1st Battalion 169th General Support Aviation carries a crew of four and is the same time of helicopter that has been the workhorse of lifesaving medical evacuation missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers will be on had to talk about the aircraft and their service in the Rochester-based unit.

The New York Army National Guard's Recruiting Command will be set up near Gate Two as well, with a mobile recruiting station on site and "selfie area" where visitors can try on Army helmets and protective vests and other gear and take a photo of themselves.

A Humvee driving simulator and an electronic rifle range will be available to visitors as well. A punching-bag and pull-up station will let visitors challenge their fitness and that of their friends.

A skid steer machine used by New York Army National Guard engineers will also be on location for visitors to check out.

The centerpiece of the New York Air National Guard display, staffed by members of the 174th Attack Wing, which is based at Hancock Field Air National Guard base in Syracuse, will be a Ground Control Station like those used by pilots to fly the MQ-9 remotely piloted aircraft.

Pilots from the 174th man these stations at Hancock Field and operate MQ-9 aircraft flying above Afghanistan and other locations around the world.

The display, located near the Sports and Activity Center, will also include a Humvee used by the 274th Air Support Operations Squadron. Those Airmen deploy into combat zones to help ground commanders coordinate the use of airpower in their operations.

Missiles and bombs which are carried by the MQ-9 aircraft will also be on display, along with an MQ-9 engine.

Photographs of Air National Guard members from many units will be available to the public as well as a snowmobile which is used by the New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing to build runways on the snow and ice of the high Arctic during support missions there.

The 16,000 men and women of the New York Army and Air National Guard serve at five air bases and 44 armories and readiness centers located across New York. These Soldiers and Airmen serve as members of the reserve components of the Army and Air Force and have served with distinction in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Here at home they respond to domestic emergencies under the orders of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. New York Army and Air National Guard members played key roles in the state response to Tropical Storms Irene and Lee in 2011 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012. They also responded in November 2014 when a freak snow storm buried Erie County.