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

FOR RELEASE: Tuesday, Oct 25, 2011

SYRACUSE, NY (10/25/2011)(readMedia)-- Almost 1500 New York Army National Guard Soldiers have returned from a three-week training exercise held at the Army’s National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California. The Soldiers returned to armories around New York over a three-day period from Oct. 22 to Oct. 25. The Soldiers are assigned to the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, headquartered in Syracuse, and the 42nd Infantry Division, headquartered in Troy. The National Training Center is the Army’s premier training facility. The Soldiers were there to prepare for a planned deployment to Afghanistan. The realistic training required the Soldiers to live and work at forward operating bases similar to those in Afghanistan and conduct realistic missions based on the challenges troops face in the combat zone. The Soldiers learned to battle insurgents and prevent attacks from improvised explosive devices while at the same time working with local officials and villagers to improve security. The training center features villages peopled with actors, many of whom are Afghans, who react to the Soldiers as they would in real life.