CONTACT: Eric Durr, 518-786-4581 or (cell) 518-429-5186

FOR RELEASE: Sunday, Nov 22, 2009

NEW WINDSOR, NY (11/22/2009)--The New York Army National Guard and United States Army Reserve will formally open a shared Armed Forces Reserve Center here today and dedicate it in honor of a Army Reserve Soldier killed in action in Baghdad in 2004. The Armed Forces Reserve Center located on Riza Avenue at Stewart International Airport will be dedicated in memory of Sgt. Catalin Dan Dima, a Romanian immigrant who joined the Army Reserve and served in Baghdad with the 411th Engineer Brigade before being killed in a mortar attack on Nov. 13, 2005. The $20.4 million center, opened in August, houses the 411th Engineer Brigade of the United States Army Reserve and two New York Army National Guard units, A Battery of the 1st Battalion, 258th Field Artillery and 1569th Transportation Company. The two Army National Guard units were formerly housed in the Newburgh Armory, and the 411th Engineers formerly occupied an older Reserve Center. The New York Army National Guard units are sharing the Reserve Center as part of an effort to save taxpayer dollars. Major Gen. William Monk III, commander of the Army Reserve's 99th Regional Support Command will preside over the 1 p.m. ceremony.