CONTACT: Lt. Col. Richard Goldenberg, 518-727-7314 or richard.goldenberg@ng.army.mil

FOR RELEASE: Saturday, May 02, 2009

ON SITE: Lt. Col. Richard Goldenberg, 518-727-7314 or richard.goldenberg@ng.army.mil

WHO:

Brigadier General Steven N. Wickstrom, incoming commander of the Army National Guard's 42nd Infantry (Rainbow) Division. Wickstrom has served in numerous leadership and staff positions in his 28-year career as an officer in the Army National Guard. He is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and previously served as the Deputy Commanding General of the 42nd Infantry Division. Wickstrom takes command from Brig. Gen. Paul C. Genereux, Jr., the division commander from April 2006 and formerly the division's deputy commander for combat operations during the unit deployment to Iraq in 2005.

WHAT:

TROY, NY (04/30/2009)-- The Troy-based 42nd Infantry Division welcomes its new commander in a formal military ceremony this Sunday, May 3. Iraq War veteran Brig. Gen. Steven Wickstrom takes command of the New York Army National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division, Sunday, in a change of command ceremony in front of divisional troops at Camp Smith, near Peekskill, N.Y. The 42nd Infantry Division Headquarters, based in Troy, N.Y., is one of only eight Army National Guard combat division headquarters in the nation. Wickstrom takes command on Sunday, May 3 of the Army National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division, based in Troy, N.Y. with Soldiers across New York State and associated units across five states.

WHEN:

11 a.m. on Sunday, May 3, 2009

WHERE:

New York Army National Guard Camp Smith Training Site, Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.

To gain access to this secure military facility and cover these events, members of the media must contact Lt. Col. Richard Goldenberg, 42nd Infantry Division Public Affairs Officer at 518-727-7314, Richard.goldenberg@ng.army.mil. COVERAGE OPPORTUNITY: The Army change of command ceremony is steeped in tradition. The incoming commander will review a formation of troops with their unit guidons (colors) present. The two general officers will then pass the divisional colors, representing the transition of command. Maj. Gen. Joseph J. Taluto, a Fort Ann native and The Adjutant General for New York State, will participate in the ceremony as the reviewing officer. Television news media interested in military b-roll of the ceremony can coordinate for delivery of DVD video materials after the ceremony by contacting Lt. Col. Richard Goldenberg, 42nd Infantry Division Public Affairs Officer at 518-727-7314, Richard.goldenberg@ng.army.mil not later than close of business on Friday, May 1.

BACKGROUND:

Brigadier General Steven N. Wickstrom: Brigadier General Steven N. Wickstrom received his commission as an infantry second lieutenant upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1981. He has served primarily in infantry units in both the Active Army and the Army National Guard. Wickstrom has commanded at all levels to include an Anti-Tank Company, a Light Infantry Battalion and an Infantry Brigade. Before serving as the Deputy Commanding General of the 42nd Infantry Division, Wickstrom was deployed to Iraq as Team Leader of the Joint Center for Operational Analysis, United States Joint Forces Command at Camp Victory. Prior to that, Brig. Gen. Wickstrom served as the Strategic Plans and Joint Exercise and Training Officer with the Joint Forces Headquarters, Massachusetts Army National Guard. He commanded the 26th Infantry Brigade, 29th Infantry Division (Light), the 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry, 29th Infantry Division (Light), and Company D, 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry Division, 26th "Yankee" Infantry Division (Light). Wickstrom resides in Upton, Mass. The 42nd Infantry (Rainbow) Division: The 42nd Infantry provides leadership, training and resource oversight for the combat readiness and mobilization of eight Army National Guard brigades, including the 26th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade in Massachusetts, the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade in New York, the 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in New Jersey, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain) in Vermont, 197th Fires Brigade in New Hampshire and the 369th Sustainment Brigade, also in New York. The 42nd Infantry, known throughout the U.S. Army as the "Rainbow Division," derives its nickname from the unit's first chief of staff, then-Colonel Douglas MacArthur. When the division first organized for deployment to France in World War I, MacArthur remarked on the diversity of National Guard representation from 26 states and the District of Columbia. "The 42nd Infantry stretches across America like a Rainbow," MacArthur said, and the divisional nickname and unique shoulder insignia was born. It was the first National Guard divisional headquarters called to active duty for combat operations in Iraq since the Korean War. The division served as the Multinational Divisional Headquarters for North Central Iraq during the Iraqi Constitutional Referendum vote in 2005. The Rainbow Division, as a senior military headquarters, has been part of numerous New York State domestic operations. The division led response efforts in the 1998 North Country Ice Storm, the Stillwater tornado recovery efforts in 1998 and the National Guard response to the 2001 World Trade Center terror attacks in New York City. The 42nd Division headquarters deployed to Iraq in 2005 for Operation Iraqi Freedom and served in Cairo, Egypt in November, 2007 partnered with elements of the Egyptian army as the senior Army Forces headquarters during the joint, multinational Bright Star exercise in support of U.S. Army Central. The Rainbow Division is scheduled to deploy Soldiers from its headquarters element to Australia this summer to support the Army Pacific Command's Talisman Saber training exercise with Australian forces and again to Japan in December of this year for the joint, multinational training exercise Yama Sakura alongside the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.