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SARATOGA SPRINGS-- The last draftee Soldier on active duty, United States Army Material Command Sgt. Major Jeffery Mellinger (left), presents a United States Flag to outgoing New York State Command Sgt. Major Robert Van Pelt during his retirement dinner here on May 6. Mellinger was drafted into the Army in 1972. He and Van Pelt,also a draftee, were in the same class in the Sergeants Major Academy.
Van Pelt retired from the New York Army National Guard after serving as New York State Command Sergeant Major for ten years. Van Pelt, a veteran of the Vietnam War served in the Active Army, Army Reserve and New York Army National Guard for 42 years.
DMNA Press Releases
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Times Union -- Mon, 12 Jan 2026 Duty Calls: National Guard teams conduct 6,166 military funeral honors A total of 125 highly trained New York Army National Guard and Air National Guard honor guard members performed 6,166 gravesite military funerals last year, according to Eric Durr, a spokesman... (more)
Olean Times Herald -- Sat, 10 Jan 2026 New York Air Guard, the largest in the US, gets new commander LATHAM An Air Guard major general, who started as an enlisted airman and served in the Persian Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan, assumed command of the New York Air National Guard in a ceremony... (more)
Olean Times Herald -- Thu, 08 Jan 2026 NY Air Guard honors Millard Filmore in wreath-laying ceremony BUFFALO The New York Air National Guards 107th Attack Wing honored Millard Fillmore, the nations 13th president, on Wednesday as the wings Mission Support Group deputy commander laid a wreath... (more)
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