Press Release Index
CONTACT: Sgt. Harley Jelis at 845-332-5342
FOR RELEASE: Saturday, Oct 15, 2016

New York Army National Guard Engineers Departing for Afghanistan Service

CAMP SMITH TRAINING SITE (10/14/2016)(readMedia)-- Members of the New York Army National Guard's 1156th Engineer Company hold a deployment ceremony this weekend as the Soldiers depart for overseas service in Afghanistan.

WHO: More than 150 Citizen Soldiers of the New York Army National Guard's 1156th Engineer Company

WHAT: Farewell Deployment Ceremony for Soldiers and families

WHERE: Camp Smith Training Site Parade Field

WHEN: Saturday, October 15 at 3 pm

Media Opportunity:

Imagery of Soldiers in formation and interviews with troops and families. For access to this secure military installation, news media reporters must contact Sgt. Harley Jelis at 845-332-5342 prior to 1 pm on Saturday, October 15.

Background:

1156th Engineer Company

The 1156th Engineer Company, which is based in Kingston and Camp Smith, specializes in vertical engineering; the construction of buildings and other basic facilities.

About 120 Soldiers from the 1156th Engineers responded to floodwaters in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene in August 2011. The engineers assisted in communities near Windham, N.Y.

In 2012, the company served as the urban search and extraction element as part of the New York National Guard's Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) Enhanced Response Force Package.

In addition to the unit's training to rescue CBRN victims, the company also conducted demolition in downtown Kingston in the fall of 2011 to prepare a training site for a disaster response exercise.

More recently, the company deployed 85 Soldiers to Germany in March 2014. The engineers worked on buildings and training sites at NATO's Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Bavaria.

The Soldiers are slated to deploy to Afghanistan following training at Fort Hood, Texas and should return home to New York in the fall of 2017.

© NYS DMNA Press Release:New York Army National Guard Engineers Departing for Afghanistan Service
URL: https://dmna.ny.gov/pressroom/?id=1476712946
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Page Last Modified: Oct 17, 2016