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

FOR RELEASE: Thursday, Feb 18, 2010

ON SITE: . On Location Thursday contact 1st Lt. Kevin Kopec 716-888-5718

BUFFALO, NY (02/16/2010)(readMedia)-- Soldiers of the 152nd Engineer Support Company, who are mobilizing to deployment to Afghanistan with the 827th Engineer Company, will hold a short ceremony Thursday morning to mark their mobilization for active duty in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. WHO: Eighty Soldiers and family members of the 152nd Engineer Support Company. WHAT: Mobilization Ceremony for New York Army National Guard Soldiers who will train at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin prior to serving for 10 months in Afghanistan. The unit will hold a short formal ceremony to say goodbye to their families. Later in the day the Soldiers will board buses and move to the New York State Armory in Horseheads, where the company headquarters is located, to complete processing. A farewell ceremony will be held at 11 .m. on Sunday, Feb. 21 at the Wings of Eagles Discovery Center at the Elmira-Corning Regional Airport WHEN: 10 a.m., Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010. WHERE: New York State Armory. 184 Connecticut St., Buffalo NY Coverage Opportunities: Imagery of the Soldiers in formation and family members in the audience. There will be opportunities to interview Soldiers, their families and New York Army National Guard leaders. The company is holding the Connecticut St. Armory event to make it easier on families who may not be able to make the Feb. 21 event at the Elmira-Corning Airport. Additional Information: 827th Engineer Company: 827 Engineer Company is a horizontal construction company, which means they specialize in building and repairing roads headquartered in Horseheads NY and is part of the 204th Engineer Battalion based in Binghamton, NY. The 827th also has a detachment in Walton, NY. The 204th Engineer Battalion is the only engineer battalion in the New York Army National Guard and plays a significant role when the Guard responds to state emergencies. For this upcoming deployment to Afghanistan, the 827th will be doing primarily road construction with D7-Dozers, Scrapers, Graders, and general earthmoving equipment. They are regularly called to assist the State with snow removal and flood support such as their recent State Mission with flooding of Delaware and Sullivan counties June 18, 2007. The Company has been augmented with additional Soldiers from the 204th Engineer Battalion located in Binghamton and the 152 Engineer Company located in Buffalo. These Soldiers from Buffalo recently assisted with flooding of Gowanda and Silver Creek, NY 11-19 August 2009. Capt.Jeffrey Miles is the Company Commander and 1st Sgt.Armando Lopez is the First Sergeant. Follow the New York National Guard on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube: FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-Army-National-Guard/112535293973?ref=search&sid=100000443776901.3155842963..1 Twitter: http://twitter.com/NationalGuardNY YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/nynationalguard