CONTACT: Lt. Col. Richard Goldenberg, 518-786-4581, richard.goldenberg@us.army.mil

FOR RELEASE: Wednesday, May 09, 2012

CAMP SHELBY, MISS. (05/09/2012--More than a dozen New York Army National Guard Soldiers departed for their nine-month deployment in Afghanistan yesterday and today, May 9. The engineer Soldiers are assigned to Company A, 27th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, based in Lockport. They departed from Camp Shelby where they had prepared for deployment since February. More than 1,700 New York Army National Guard Soldiers from the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, with headquarters in Syracuse, N.Y., mobilized for Active Duty in January and reported to Camp Shelby for post-mobilization training. All of the brigade elements are now serving overseas.